The Time Spiral
by MemberOfDumbledoresArmy
Summary: Sirius Black never expected to fall in love. That was James's thing. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in finding the right girl, he just didn't think she existed. The problem is that she does exist, just in the wrong time. Time Travel. M for language and eventual smut.
1. The Forgotten Treasure

**A/N: I started writing this story a long time ago. I was just cleaning out my documents when I came across it again. I didn't post it at the time because 1. I had a lot on my plate 2. I wasn't sure if people would like this pairing. Honestly, I have NO idea if there's another story like this one out there, so if there is, I apologize. I know there are some time travel stories and marauder stories, but I don't know if Sirius/Lily Potter II is common or not. I just got to thinking that since Sirius Black is my favorite HP character, I wanted to write a story about him, and his perfect match in my mind is a female version of James Potter; a girl who is feisty, intelligent, talented, prankster, loyal, and so much more. Who would be better for him than Lily Luna Potter? Let me know what you think, and don't be afraid to tell me if you hate it! **

….

Lily Luna Potter found herself, once again, playing hide and seek in the Burrow. She didn't exactly enjoy the game, but her younger cousins did and she simply couldn't say 'no' to them. The entire family was gathered there in celebration of Hugo's 17th birthday. Lily couldn't help but laugh as she heard the scuttle of tiny feet and knew her four year old cousin, Jasper, was trying to find a good place to hide.

Jasper Remus Lupin was the son of Lily's cousin, Victoire, and Teddy Lupin. Lily counted loudly all the way up to the number 30 and then shouted out, "Ready or not, here I come!" and began searching. It wasn't at all hard to find the four people she was looking for. Molly had hidden under the table, Roxanne was scrunched up in the bathroom cupboard, Jasper was giggling in the corner of the sitting room with a lampshade over his head, and Albus Potter had magically stuck himself to the ceiling. It took Lily the longest to find him.

Even though Al was two years older than her, he was still very much a kid at heart and loved playing these types of games. "Okay, Al," said Jasper, who was clearly in charge of this game, "It's your turn to count."

"My turn?" Al pretended to be upset, "but I thought it was _your_ turn," he tickled his young cousin.

Giggling, Jasper said, "Nope!" and ran off to find a hiding spot. With a reluctant sigh, Albus covered his eyes with his hands and began to count out loud. Lily, trying to find a hiding spot that had been better than Al's, took off immediately to the one place she knew he wouldn't look; the attic.

With her raven black hair, so much like her father's, trailing behind her, Lily ran as fast as she could through the Burrow. The Ghoul in the attic didn't mind being bothered, but that didn't stop her Grandma Molly from expressly forbidding any of her grandchildren from entering the attic.

When Lily came up through the small door in the floor and hoisted herself into the attic, however, the ghoul was nowhere to be found. Sighing in relief, she shut the trap door behind her and scrambled into an old trunk that smelled of mothballs.

She waited with bated breath for Albus to find her, knowing that it would take him quite a while. He would never expect her to hide in the attic because Lily never disobeyed her grandmother. Her hands groped blindly in the pitch black trunk and she felt spare bits of parchment, old quills, and something furry that she prayed was clothing and not a dead animal.

After what seemed like forever, she had almost given up when she heard the creak of a trapdoor opening. She froze and her fingers clenched around a cold chain on the floor of the trunk beneath her. "Lils?" Al asked in a whisper, "Are you up here? You know we're not supposed to be up here, but I've searched everywhere else."

The floorboards groaned under his feet as he looked behind an old bookshelf, but Lily wasn't there. That was when he spotted the trunk. It was definitely big enough to be able to fit his slender sister. Quietly as he could, he crept up to the trunk, and sprung the lid open while yelling, "AH-HA!"

Lily screamed as well. She jumped up, tripped, and laughing, the siblings fell to the floor. "What's this?" Albus asked, motioning to the chain that was still twined around Lily's fingers.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, "I found it in that trunk."

She held up a long thick golden chain that had a clasp on the end. "Is it a necklace?" asked Al.

"Yeah, I reckon it is," said Lily as she reached for the other end. That was when she noticed the trinket attached to the chain. Lily brought up the other end and clasped it closed, and then inspected the trinket that dangled from the center of the necklace.

It was a series of golden circles and in the middle was an hourglass. "Hang on," said Al as he reached for it, "there's an inscription here," aloud he began to read, "_I mark the hours, every one. Nor have I yet out run the sun. My use and value unto you…are gauged by what you have to do._"

Albus Potter made a face at the necklace and Lily said, "What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"

"No idea," said her brother.

"Well, I'm going to wear it," she snatched it back from her brother and slung the long chain over her head. The hourglass landed just below her breasts. "It's very pretty."

"Yes, it is," said Al patronizingly, "but we're not supposed to even be up here. Gran would be thoroughly pissed off if you traipse downstairs wearing that thing. Not to mention it could be dangerous. You know how Grandad charms everything that's muggle made."

"I don't think it's made by muggles," said Lily as she held the hourglass in front of her face, appreciating it's beauty.

"Still, I have a bad feeling about it, Lils, just put it back and let's get out of here."

"No, I think I'll keep it. There's no point in something this pretty left alone up here collecting dust."

"I said put it back!"

"No!"

Albus made to grab the necklace, but Lily stopped him and the two siblings began to wrestle for possession of it. Just as Al's fingers brushed against the hourglass, Lily became desperate and spun on the spot to disapparate.

She and Albus landed in the middle of Hogsmeade. "Lily Luna Potter!" yelled Albus angrily; he hated disapparition.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him childishly and he made a desperate lunge for the chain around her throat. Lily fumbled with the trinket in her hands, and accidentally flicked the hourglass. The hourglass spun repeatedly inside the golden circles and she couldn't take her eyes off of it. When she glanced up, it looked like the whole world was spinning.

That was when she panicked. Albus had been right; something was terribly wrong with that necklace. Lily wrenched it from around her throat, the hourglass still spinning crazily, and then she fainted.

When she woke up, she felt groggy, sick, and disoriented. She didn't hear any noise, which was extremely unusual as normally everywhere she went was exceedingly noisy. That's just the way things were when you had a family as crazy as hers.

Moaning deeply, her eyelids fluttered open and she found herself looking at a very familiar ceiling. She was in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. She'd been in enough Quidditch accidents and other magical incidents to know that ceiling too well. When she fainted, Albus must've taken her immediately to the closest Healer; Madam Pomfrey at Hogwarts, as they had just been in Hogsmeade.

To confirm her suspicions, she turned her head to see the concerned face of her brother looking down at her. "Albus," she said softly, "you were right. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

"Albus?" he asked in a tone of confusion.

Lily blinked at him and realized that this boy's eyes were hazel; not green. "James?" she asked and the boy nodded, but she had a feeling this wasn't her oldest brother either. "You look different," she said, "Younger…and something about your nose is off. Why are you wearing Al's glasses?"

"I don't know who this 'Al' bloke is, but I can promise you these glasses are mine," James gave her a smirk. Lily felt a bit queasy. This boy looked like her oldest brother, and responded to his name, but there were obvious differences, even if they did have the same exact smirk.

"How did I get here?" she asked.

"We found you in Hogsmeade unconscious just lying there in the middle of the street," another voice had spoken. Lily turned her head to see a boy who looked vaguely familiar. He had sandy brown hair and kind blue eyes.

"Thanks for, um, helping me?" her gratitude came out sounding like a question.

"You're welcome," yet a third voice registered in Lily's ears, but this one was a bit deeper than the other two. Lily's eyes slid from the boy with the sandy-colored hair to rest on a handsome boy who was looking at her with open curiosity. He had hair that was almost as black as hers, but not quite, and his eyes were a shade of grey.

"What's your name?" asked James.

"You…you don't know me?" as much as she had suspected that this boy was not her brother, she had still hoped otherwise.

"Should I?" he questioned, his brow furrowing in concentration as he tried to recall having seen her before.

"My name is Lily," she said, "Lily-" but she never got to reveal her surname as the door to the Hospital Wing opened and yet another man Lily did not recognize entered.

He had a long silver beard and long silver hair. He wore half-moon spectacles over his twinkling blue eyes. The man reminded Lily of a kind grandfather and she felt a surge of comfort at his presence.

"Ah, yes," he said as he smiled down at her, "Thank you, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, and Mr. Lupin for making sure that our guest was assaulted with your prying questions upon waking."

Even though his eyes still twinkled brightly, all three boys hung their heads in shame, "Our apologies, Headmaster," said the sandy-haired boy sincerely.

"It's quite alright. Curiosity is not a sin, boys, though you should be very careful with what you do with it," the headmaster said this very kindly, but it was clearly a dismissal. Without another word, the three young boys filed out of the room, leaving Lily alone with the man with the silver hair.

"I'm sorry," said Lily, "but who are you?"

"My name is Albus Dumbledore."

"But that's impossible," said Lily with a frown.

"I assure you, my dear, it is not only probable but also reality. I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ask anyone here and I'm sure they'll tell you the same thing. The question now is who are you?"

"My name is Lily Potter," there was a blaze of suspicion in his eyes, but she continued speaking anyway, "I don't know what happened, but I was with my brother, Al, down in Hogsmeade. We were fighting over a necklace and something strange happened. The necklace started to spin and the world around me started to spin and I fainted. I woke up here."

"Do you know where you are?"

"Hogwarts."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I am a student here. I've been attending this school since I was eleven."

"I see," Lily felt a brush of his consciousness against her mind, and she slammed walls up against this intrusion. The headmaster looked slightly taken aback. "My apologies," he said as he inclined his head toward her, "I wasn't aware that you would feel that. I see you are a rather skilled Occlumens."

"Yes, Sir," she said with gritted teeth, now openly suspicious of this man.

"I assure you I meant no harm, I just wanted to see if what you spoke was the truth."

"Of course it's the truth! Why would I lie about something that could be so easily disproven? I am a student here."

"It seems, if I am correct, and I usually am, I can surmise what has happened to you very quickly. It seems like you have traveled through time, Miss Potter. What time are you from?"

"Excuse me? Are you mad? Time travel is impossible!" Even as she said the words, she remembered the hourglass in the necklace and the inscription on it. Wasn't there a line about counting the hours? Perhaps it counted years as well.

"Not impossible," said Dumbledore kindly, "it is the only explanation that would make sense. Am I right in assuming that you are a descendent of James Potter? Forgive me, but you two do resemble each other, you share a last name, and when I told you who I was you recognized my name but thought it was impossible for me to be here. It is inadvisable for me to know too much about my own future, but I am guessing that in whatever time you are from, I am dead."

Lily nodded numbly. She had always heard that Albus Dumbledore was brilliant, but this man was a bloody genius the way he had surmised so many things from the few facts she had revealed. This wasn't a dream then, she realized suddenly. She really was here. There was no way her brain could have created such a vivid and strange persona as this man. Excitement rushed through her quick as adrenaline and with a rush she came to the conclusion that she was almost happy to be here.

She knew she should be afraid, yet she wasn't. She knew that she should be worried about the prospect of never seeing her friends or family again, but that worry had yet to set in. For now the only feelings she had were excitement and burning curiosity.

To her surprise, Dumbledore smiled even wider and said, "Well this certainly complicates things. I wish to know nothing else about the future from you. However, there are a few things I must say. Firstly, the Ministry is working on a method of time travel as we speak, using devices called Time Turners that resemble the necklace you have described, but they have not yet been created. Where is the one you claimed to have had on you?"

"I…I tore it off," said Lily, a sick feeling growing in the pit of her stomach, "I tore it off and flung it from me while I was traveling back in time! It must have been lost somewhere between now and…my time."

"That is rather unfortunate," Dumbledore's smile barely faltered, "For now, however, we will just have to do our best with the situation at hand. What house are you in?"

"Gryffindor."

"Naturally. We must think of an alternative last name for you. It seems you've already told your fellow students that your first name is Lily, and I think perhaps you should invent a last name."

Lily debated for a long time on what name to give. All the names that were coming to mind were the names of magical families that people would recognize and then they would know she was lying. Finally, she decided to try her aunt's maiden name. "Granger?"

"That's a good a name as any."

Lily nodded and asked, "I'll be staying here then?"

"Yes. I will work tirelessly with the Ministry to see that these Time Turners are invented as soon as possible, and when they are, I will send you home. Though I warn you, I've no idea how long that will take."

"That's fine," said Lily, seeing a golden opportunity to finally meet the grandparents she had never known.

"You are not to divulge anything to anyone," Dumbledore said very seriously, "you must not tell anyone that you are from the future. This is of extreme importance. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Very good. Now I suggest we go on up to the Gryffindor common room. If I'm not mistaken, the room has already accommodated to your arrival. Tomorrow I will allow you to go to Hogsmeade to get a few things you'll need."

"Um, I'm sorry, Sir, but I don't have any money. I can't go shopping."

Dumbledore waved a hand airily, having already considered that, "You will find what you need in your dormitory. Don't worry about any of that," Dumbledore motioned for Lily to get up and follow him. He walked with her all the way to Gryffindor common room, where Minerva McGonagall stood waiting.

"Albus, what?" she began, but Dumbledore held up a hand to stop her.

Lily couldn't help but be startled at how young McGonagall was. And how strict she was as well. Minerva McGonagall was a very close friend to the Potters, and as a result, Lily knew her on a very personal level, but during her own time, McGonagall had been retired for a long time and this strict professor before her was not the same woman Lily knew in the future. This made it easy for Lily to differentiate in her mind between her 'aunt Minerva' and 'Professor McGonagall.'

"Minerva, this is Lily Granger. She was homeschooled for the past six years. When her parents died in a tragic accident recently, her muggle aunt decided she should attend Hogwarts as she would not be able to continue her niece's magical education," said Dumbledore quickly.

Lily nodded in agreement and attempted to look sad, which wasn't hard as she was so frightened at the moment. "She has just been sorted," added Dumbledore, "and was placed in Gryffindor. Have a goodnight, ladies," Dumbledore inclined his head politely to each of them and then turned and strode off down the hall.

"Very well, Miss Granger, right this way," McGonagall led her into the common room, and up to the 7th year girl's dormitory. "Miss Evans," said McGonagall and Lily sucked in a breath in anticipation. A girl with dark red hair turned immediately at the sound of the professor's voice.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall?" Lily Evans had eyes that matched her son's and grandson's perfectly. Lily Potter couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her grandmother, her namesake, smiling at her and welcoming her warmly into the dormitory as Minerva explained the situation.

"You'll love Hogwarts," said a girl with short brown hair and a kind smile. "My name is Alice, by the way, Alice Fortescue."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Lily."

"Well we're going to have to figure out some way to differentiate between the two Lilys now! What's your middle name?"

"Luna."

"She shouldn't have to go by her middle name," Lily Evans objected, feeling bad enough for the recently orphaned girl.

"I don't mind."

"Oi! Lils!" another girl, this one with long blonde curly hair and a tall willowy figure, came bouncing into the room saying, "James Potter is at the foot of our stairs."

"What does that have to do with me?" Lily Evans snapped, sounding angry, but her eyes betrayed just a bit of the joy she felt.

"Because his arms are overflowing with lilies and he's staring up the staircase with a look of longing."

Lily Evans rolled her almond shaped green eyes and said to Lily, who was now known as Luna, "This is Mary MacDonald. She and Alice are my best friends."

"Nice to meet you."

"Well go on," said Alice, "run downstairs and break poor James' heart!"

"I'm not going down there!"

"Yes you are!" said Mary firmly.

"No, I'm not! And if either of you try to make me, I'll put you both in detention!"

Grumbling, Alice and Mary fell silent. It was late in the evening and the girls were doing various activities in the dorm room. Alice was curled up in her bed writing, Mary was brushing her hair in the mirror, and Lily was doing homework.

Not sure what to do with herself, Lily Luna Potter left the dormitory and went to the common room. "Ah," she sighed with relief as she spotted her favorite chair. However, right as she reached it, somebody else moved to sit in it at the same time.

"Oi!" she said, "I was going to sit there!"

"Normally," said James Potter with a cocky yet charming smile, "I would deny your claim over my favorite squashy red armchair and make you duel me for it, but since you're new here, I'll give you a break," chivalrously, he stood up and Lily sat down, curling up like a cat.

"I'm sorry about your circumstances," said the boy who she now knew was Remus Lupin. That was why he looked familiar to her; he resembled his son, Teddy, when he wasn't using his metamorphamagis powers to change his appearance.

"It's alright," said Lily and she meant it. Dumbledore was working on a way to return her to her own time. Her father thought so highly of Albus Dumbledore that he had named his son after him. Lily was fairly confident he could accomplish this task within a reasonable amount of time.

"Are you excited about attending school here?" asked James with interest as he and his friends took a seat on the couch across from her.

"Absolutely!"

"What's your favorite subject?" asked James.

"She doesn't have a favorite subject yet, you prat," said Sirius Black with a smile.

"I can make a pretty good guess and say it will be Defense Against the Dark Arts," Lily offered.

"That's my favorite as well," Remus told her.

"Mine is Transfiguration," said James as he twirled his wand between his fingers.

They all looked to Sirius then and he shrugged saying, "I hate them all equally." Lily laughed at this and Sirius smiled appreciatively.

Just then a pudgy blonde boy with small watery eyes came over and asked, "Has anyone finished their Potions homework yet? My essay is much too short, but I can't think of anything else to write."

"Just write about how much you look up to Professor Slughorn and how you aspire to be half of the wizard he is and he will give you top marks, Wormtail." said James with a shrug.

"Wormtail?" asked Lily in outrage. She leapt to her feet faster than they could blink. After sucking in a deep breath of air she said, "You are an evil coward, you little shit!"

"Woah, calm down there, Granger," said Sirius as he stepped between them. James and Remus looked on in shock.

"What's gotten into you?" James wanted to know.

"I…I'm sorry if I…if I've done something…" said Peter, sounding sincerely sorry. But Lily didn't buy it for a minute. He may not have done anything wrong yet, but he would, and it would be the worst thing a person could ever do. Lily knew that in a few short years, Peter would betray his friends and sell them out to Lord Voldemort. She was more tempted at that moment than she ever had been before to do something she knew she shouldn't do. She wanted to warn James, to tell him what Peter would do, but if she did, then she would alter the future and she may never even exist.

Trying hard for indifference, but failing miserably, she said, "Oh, no I'm sorry, it's just…I seem to have mistaken you for someone else. You remind me of someone who I really _hate. _Do you think you could just please leave me alone?" Not knowing what else to do, Peter shrugged and sauntered off to work on his Potions essay by himself.

Knowing that there were just some things about women that men couldn't understand, James, Remus and Sirius made the smart decision to keep their mouths shut about what Lily had just done. Instead, James asked, "Do you play Quidditch at all?"

"Yes!" she gushed, "I love Quidditch! I'm a superb Chaser and not a bad Seeker, either."

"Are you going to try out for the team? You're right on time if you're interested. Tryouts are tomorrow evening."

"No, I don't think that's a good idea. I just started school here and I need to concentrate on my schoolwork," Lily couldn't tell them that the real reason she would try out for the team was because she would hopefully be leaving very abruptly before their first match.

"You sound like Moony," said James as he gave his friend a gentle shove with his shoulder.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Sirius asked, "We could show you around Hogwarts and tell you where all of your classes are."

"I am actually going to Hogsmeade tomorrow to get some things. Professor Dumbledore said it would be fine. I left home rather suddenly and forgot a few essentials."

The three Marauders nodded their heads in understanding. As strange as it was to be in the presence of these people she had heard so much about, Lily couldn't help but feel comfortable. James and Sirius were exactly how her father had described them, and Remus was so much like his son that Lily felt right at home.

"What? That barmy old codger is letting you go to Hogsmeade? By yourself? Wasn't he in Gryffindor? Shouldn't he be a bit more chivalrous than that? You should consider yourself lucky that we're here to watch over you," James said importantly, "we shall escort you to Hogsmeade, and make sure you have a safe journey."

Sirius rolled his eyes and said, "Do you just have a thing for Lilys, mate?"

Lily felt her stomach churn in disgust at the idea of her grandfather being interested in her, but to her immense relief, she saw a similar look of revulsion on James' face as he said, "Absolutely not. Evans is the only girl for me, Padfoot…" James trailed off, not knowing how to explain what he felt. This new girl meant something to him, though it wasn't any sort of physical attraction. More like a close friend or a sister. He felt protective of her and familiar with her, as if he'd known her his whole life. He didn't know why, but he knew that Lily Granger was important to him, just not in the same way as Lily Evans was.

"Trust me, Prongs, I know. You spend more time swooning over her than hanging out with us."

"I'm just so close! She's starting to fancy me, I can tell!" James said with firm conviction, "You just wait, Padfoot, in a few weeks I'll be dating Lily Evans!" he sighed dreamily. Lily couldn't help but smile at this and she felt it warm her heart.

"Sure, and I'm going to marry Moaning Myrtle," said Sirius sarcastically.

Lily snorted. If only he knew that James was right. Lily took a minute to study each of the people before her, committing each of them to memory. It was a bittersweet moment for her, as she knew the terrible fate that awaited each of them, but they were currently sitting before her laughing and talking without a care in the world.

Remus Lupin resembled Teddy. He seemed the most kind and genuine of the three of them. Lily felt a surge of emotion looking at him. His pale eyes shone with sincerity, loyalty and he seemed just all around _good._ James Potter, her grandfather, resembled all of his offspring. His raven black hair was an untidy mop on top of his head, and his round-framed glasses slid down his nose as he spoke and he had to push them back up. His mannerisms and the arrogant way he handled himself reminded Lily so forcibly of her oldest brother that she felt like she knew her grandfather already.

Sirius Black wasn't at all what Lily had expected. She had been told, of course, that her father's godfather had spent twelve years in Azkaban and it had taken a toll on him so whenever her thoughts wandered to Sirius Black she pictured him broken and worn and tattered, but this bright seventeen year old boy before her was the opposite. He wasn't arrogant like James, oppositely he seemed reserved on the outside, but when Lily stared into his steel grey eyes, she sensed a deep passion for adventure and a love for life on the wild side. Everything about him screamed '_sexy as hell.'_

He caught her staring then and she blushed and turned back to James who was talking, which Lily knew must be normal. "….and then I asked her if she wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me and she said she would rather eat undiluted bubotuber pus."

"How is that a good thing, mate?" asked Sirius with an arched dark eyebrow.

James' face fell when he realized his friends did not understand his point, "Well normally she says that she would rather die than go to Hogsmeade with me, but this time it was just consuming undiluted bubotuber pus. Which means that I must now be a better option to her than death." He smiled smugly.

"I'm sure she'll come around," said Remus, though it was obvious that he was just trying to console his friend.

"In the meantime, we Marauders can continue our reign of chaos in this school," said Sirius quietly.

"And Maraduerette!" Lily trilled.

"What?" James asked in surprise.

"You didn't think you could leave me out of any of your evil schemes, did you?" She demanded with excitement, "playing pranks is my forte! If we're going to plan something big, we should use the Map."

"Unfortunately, Filch confiscated the – wait! How do you know about the Map?" James looked shocked and somewhat frightened.

"I…um…" Lily stuttered frantically before practically yelling, "I overheard you talking about it!"

James furrowed his brow at her for a moment in confusion then gave her a half-shrug and said, "It's not like it matters if you know about it or not because Filch has it."

"Lil-um, Luna?" Lily Evans called tentatively to her from the girls' staircase, "it's okay with us if you want to stay in the common room for a while, but Mary, Alice, and I are turning in for the night."

"Oh, alright. I'll be right up!"

"Luna? I thought you said your name is Lily?" Remus questioned.

"My name is Lily, but since the Head Girl and I share a name, we figured it would be easier if I went by my middle name; Luna," as she said this, she stood up and stretched. She noticed with a hint of smugness that Sirius' eyes trailed up and down her body as she reached her arms over her head.

"Night, Lu," said James with a smirk.

Rolling her eyes she said, "Don't call me 'Lu,' I'm not a toilet."

"Night, Lu-Lu," Sirius teased.

Lily playfully ruffled his hair as she passed him and said, "Night, Snuffles." She knew she had made a mistake as soon as the words were out of her mouth. All of the boys froze in shock and stared at her. Right as James was about to open his mouth and ask how in the hell she knew that was one of Sirius' nicknames, she ran for the girls' dormitory and didn't look back.


	2. Strange Feelings

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All recognizable characters, places, ideas, events, etc. belong to JK Rowling.**

…**..**

The next morning, Lily woke up feeling right at home because she was at home. Hogwarts. Oh how she loved it there. She hummed quietly to herself as she got up, took a shower and made her way down to breakfast. She was one of the first people in the Great Hall. Glancing around, she saw several faces that looked vaguely familiar; some she knew from old photographs, others resembled people she knew from her own time.

Just then, a tall skinny boy with greasy black hair came into the Great Hall, his shoulders hunched and his arms laden with books. James Potter followed behind him, calling out loudly, "What's wrong, Snivellus? Can't take a joke?"

Sirius entered the room just behind James, a small smile playing on his lips. Despite his amazingly good looks, Sirius looked more like a devil than an angel when he smiled that way. Lily shivered just thinking about it.

Remus followed Sirius, sighed heavily and said, "Come on, James, let's just leave him alone and eat breakfast."

"You're no fun in the mornings, Moony," James chided.

"Breakfast," Remus repeated firmly. James nodded in agreement and the three friends made their way to where Lily sat. Lily, however, let her eyes follow the boy they had been tormenting. He strode across the room and sat at the Slytherin table. This confirmed Lily's suspicions of who the boy was. The moment James Potter sat down beside her, she stood up.

"Did I do something wrong?" James asked with a frown.

"No, no…" mumbled Lily, not really paying attention. She waved James away and walked over to Severus Snape. She stood quietly next to him, just observing. He was giving the book in his hands rapt attention, barely even noticing the food he was eating. So this was the man whose name was passed on to her brother, Albus Severus Potter.

"Can I help you?" Lily jumped when he spoke. She hadn't realized he'd noticed her.

"I..um…I'm new here. My name is Lil-Luna," she held out her hand for him to shake.

He glanced up from his book, stared at her outstretched hand, then glanced up to her face where her warm brown eyes were sparkling at him. He snapped the book shut and asked with a sneer, "Lil-Luna? What sort of name is that?"

"Well," she rambled stupidly, "My name is Lily, but since there is already a Lily in my year in Gryffindor I've decided to be called by my middle name, which is Luna."

"If you're here because Potter sent you over here to trick me, you should have fair warning that I know more curses than that filthy little blood traitor and his three sidekicks combined."

Swallowing the lump in her throat at the threat in his voice, she said, "Potter didn't send me over here. I'm here because he was being a git to you, and you seem like a nice bloke."

He raised his eyebrows at this in surprise, but didn't say anything. Lily cleared her throat, sat down beside him and asked, "Do you like it here at Hogwarts?"

Without even consciously realizing it, his eyes slid over to the entrance of the Great Hall just as Lily Evans was coming in. Her head was thrown back in laughter at something Alice had just said. "It's not bad," as he said this, a slow genuine smile crept across his face. Realizing he had revealed too much, his eyes turned cold and he sneered, "Don't you need to be getting back to your own table?"

"I suppose I should…I guess I will see you around, Severus," she smiled warmly at him and went back to the Gryffindor table. There was a perfect spot right between Sirius Black and Mary MacDonald, so Lily took it.

"I think," James was hissing in a conspiratorial whisper to his friends, "that we should sneak into the Slytherin dormitory tonight and slip some Balding Potion into Snivellus' shampoo."

"That won't work," Sirius objected haughtily, "he doesn't _use_ shampoo," they all laughed at this.

"Stop being such stupid bloody prats!" Lily Luna snarled in anger, "and leave Severus alone. What's he ever done to you? Absolutely nothing and yet you treat him like shite. You are all a bunch of slimy arseholes!" she leapt from the bench and stormed out of the Great Hall.

"Luna!" she heard somebody call behind her as she continued stomping her way toward the dormitory, "Luna!" the deep male voice called again.

"What?" she asked, spinning around to face Sirius Black.

"I think James would've come after you, but he's still frozen in shock," Sirius smirked at this and continued, "Nobody ever speaks to James Potter that way. Except me occasionally, of course, and Lily Evans. She gets away with it because he's in love with her, and I get away with it because he knows I could beat his arse in a duel, but why, might I ask, is he letting you get away with it?" he let this question hang in mid-air and then thought it a good idea to add, "I think something strange is going on here."

"What do you mean?"

"James isn't very suspicious of you, but he should be. You and I both know perfectly well that none of us mentioned the Map yesterday. There's no way you overheard us talking about it. Then, you called me 'Snuffles.' And now you insult James in front of everyone during breakfast, and he just sat there and took it. Something isn't quite right."

"Is that what you think?" feigning innocence was the best she could come up with. He nodded and stared her down, his grey eyes focused on her like steel. Finally, she narrowed her eyes and asked, "What are you going to do about it then?"

"Watch out for my friends, of course," his tone was light, almost playful.

"How?" she eyed him warily.

"By keeping an exceptionally close eye on you. You won't be able to get away with anything suspicious anymore because I'll be so close to you it will feel like I've been attached to your hip with a Permanent Sticking Charm."

"A girl has to shower sometime," she argued hotly.

"That's just one of the perks," he told her with a wink.

"You're a pig," she said with a laugh as she shoved his chest gently.

Sirius held his hands over his heart, "You wound me, witch!" then, more seriously, he added, "I'm doing the chivalrous thing here and protecting my friends. They obviously don't see you as a danger, but they should."

"A danger?" she batted her eyelashes, "You think I'm dangerous?"

"I haven't decided that quite yet. I don't think you're _not _dangerous, let's leave it at that."

"Tsk tsk, and here I thought that Sirius Black _liked _to live life a bit on the dangerous side."

She flicked his Gryffindor tie, then turned and sashayed toward the front doors. Sirius stared after her, his mouth gaping open as he tried to make sense of what exactly had just happened and why he couldn't think straight, when he realized where she was heading. "Oi!" he called after her, "Where do you think you're going? Didn't I just tell you that I'm not letting your dangerous arse out of my site?" he jogged to catch up to her and she didn't answer until he was by her side.

"Are you trying to tell me that you will be spending as much time as possible staring at my arse?"

"That's not what I meant, but since you mentioned it," he very purposefully turned his head and let his eyes slide down to her rear end. "Nice," he told her appreciatively with a smirk.

"Boys," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Man," he corrected.

Smiling a bit herself, she told him casually, "I'm going out to get a few essential items that I forgot at home."

"I shall accompany you. Where is our destination, love? Hogsmeade? Diagon Alley?"

"Both, I think. I'll need clothes, toiletries, school books, potions ingredients, a cauldron, scales, a telescope," she ticked off her fingers as she continued down her list, "shoes would be nice, too. Blimey, I hope Dumbledore gave me enough money for all of that," she pulled the bag of coins out of her pocket and peeked inside. "Oh," she said in wonder, "it's bigger on the inside than the outside."

"Dumbledore gave you money?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I'm not telling. You've already decided for yourself that there is something strange, and possibly dangerous, about me, so just keep that in mind. I'm a strange dangerous girl who will do and say crazy things. Be sure to ignore me whenever that happens."

"Woman," he corrected with a wink, "Trust me, love, you're no girl, you are all woman."

"Merlin! Fine! Whatever! I'm a strange dangerous _woman_ and I will-"

"-Do and say crazy things, yadda yadda yadda," he finished for her with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I have been blessed, my dear, Luna, with above average intelligence, and as a result, I can concentrate on several things at once. For example, while you were talking I was simultaneously listening, correcting you in my head, and checking out your arse again."

"You are _so_ bothersome. You have crossed so many lines, Black, you're lucky I haven't slapped you yet."

"You won't," he told her confidently, "Because I amuse you as much as I bother you."

Whistling a merry tune, he strode ahead of her and opened the front door of the castle for her. "After you," he motioned for her to step outside first, and she did.

"You're coming with me, then?" she sounded both hopeful and upset at the prospect of having him along.

"Wouldn't dare let a pretty little thing like you travel around by her lonesome. Especially in times like these," his eyes darkened momentarily to look like dark storm clouds, then slowly brightened, "Besides, I've been needing to pick up a few things myself."

"You were just in Hogsmeade yesterday!" she argued, knowing that was where he had found her.

"Yes, but in the middle of my shopping a raven-haired witch popped up out of nowhere, nearly tripping me, and was unconscious. Naturally I abandoned my errands at once to rush the bird up to the hospital wing."

She snorted, but didn't comment. Together the two of them wandered their way slowly into the town of Hogsmeade. The first few minutes were spent in silence. Lily had never been more unsure of herself. If she were in her own time, she knew exactly how she would proceed. She would flirt with this gorgeous boy shamelessly and maybe even do a bit of snogging.

But the fact remained that she was entirely out of her element. She had known him for less than a day and she was already starting to like him in a way she shouldn't. How could she help herself, really? He was so adventurous and funny and very much like herself.

_Of course_, she thought angrily, _The one bloody time I really like a bloke and I can't do a bloody thing about it because I'm in the BLOODY PAST!_

"What's wrong, Lu-Lu?" asked Sirius teasingly as he reached out and tugged on a lock of her hair.

"Don't pull my hair, Black," she snapped angrily, slapping his hand away.

"What has your wand in a knot?"

"You!" she bellowed. Then she ran. Which was an exceptionally logical thing to do. Because a small petite girl like Lily Luna Potter could certainly out run a tall athletic Sirius Black. He caught her in three quick strides, lifting her up and throwing her over his shoulder to carry her in a fireman's lift.

"Now, you feisty little bird," he growled, "you can't run away from me. What is it about me that has you acting so crazy, hmm?"

Squirming, Lily ranted, "You won't leave me alone, Black! I just wanted a nice trip to Hogsmeade, by myself, but you insisted on coming. Didn't it occur to you, at all, that I didn't want you along?"

"Why wouldn't you want me with you, Lu-Lu? Wanting to do something illegal?"

"Maybe because you are an annoying git!"

"Now I know you're lying your sexy little arse off, because I am _not_ annoying. Girls have described me as many things, but annoying has never been one of them. Unless you ask Evans, but she doesn't count."

"Put me down, I'm starting to lose feeling in my feet, all the blood is rushing to my head."

"No. Not until you retract your previous statement and replace it with the sentence, 'Sirius Black is the sexiest bloke I have ever seen and I would love to shag him.'"

"You have got to be kidding me. Those words aren't coming out of my mouth!"

"We'll see about that, love."

Lily opened her mouth to make a comment about how her face was hanging uncomfortably in front of his well-shaped bum, but she stopped herself. The last thing she wanted to draw attention to was how aware she was of him physically.

"You can't carry me forever," she said a few minutes later, "I bet I'm rather heavy."

He snorted, "You are light and I am rather strong. I could carry you for a very long time indeed."

"You're such a prick, Black," she was talking in an attempt to distract him from the fact that was sliding her hand into her cloak to reach her wand. "Think everyone loves you, don't you?"

"Darling, I know everyone loves me. Have you seen the way- oi! What do you think you're doing, you sneaky little bird?" he wriggled her around just as she managed to grasp her wand.

"Ah-ha!" she cried, jabbing her wand in his ribs. With a very strange sound, he dropped her. Lily gasped at how quickly the ground rushed up to meet her and then huffed when she made contact with it. Sirius was thrashing about, laughing very uncharacteristically, and Lily was very tempted to leave him like that.

_Just this once,_ she thought, _I will have a good time with him. But after this trip to Hogsmeade I will avoid him like Dragonpox! Nothing good can come of these feelings I am starting to have._ With a sigh, she gave her wand a lazy flick and Sirius stilled.

He took a few deep breaths, then said, "You _bint_! I can't believe you hit me with a Tickling Charm!" he got to his feet and eyed her cautiously before saying seriously, "That took some courage. Hexing me like that."

"Yes, well," she twirled her wand between her fingers before placing it back into the pocket inside her robes, "I am in Gryffindor after all, aren't I?"

She smiled at him, then skipped into the nearest store; Honeydukes. They had arrived at Hogsmeade without either of them really realizing it.

"No way!" She exclaimed, ignoring Sirius completely as he continued to both compliment and insult her, "Droobles Best Blowing Gum! My dad told me about this stuff! But it was discontinued like twenty years ago."

Sirius was looking at her like she had lost her marbles. She blushed, "Sorry, I meant to say that…um…twenty years ago, you know, when my dad was, um, younger, he loved this stuff. And only two Knuts!" she added excitedly.

Laughing heartily, Sirius snatched the package of Droobles from her, grabbed several more, and took them up to the counter. He handed over one silver Sickle, receiving one bronze Knut in change. Lily scooped up all fourteen packages of gum and stowed them safely away in her book bag, determined to make sure that most of them managed to make it into the future with her to share with her family.

"Thank you," she smiled sincerely up at him, barely resisting the urge to bat her eyelashes.

"It was nothing," he said casually and she knew he meant it; a Sickle was nothing to him, he had an entire Black family fortune. "Even though my parents disowned me just over a year ago," he offered suddenly, "My Uncle Alphard left me quite a bit of gold."

Not knowing what else to say at such a random outburst, Lily mumbled a soft, "I'm sorry about your parents, that's terrible."

"I didn't mind, not really. I was the one who made the decision to run away. My family all believe in Voldemort's cause. They think he's Merlin's gift to wizard-kind. Come to save us from hiding and force muggles and muggleborns to do our bidding," he bit out in disgust.

"That's must be very hard for you."

"What?"

"I come from a very close family, there's no word strong enough to express how much you love your family. It must be hard for you to love people so much and to know they're going down such a wrong and destructive path. And your poor brother," Lily sighed and shook her head in anguish, "it must be agonizing for you to watch him be corrupted into their way of thinking."

She hadn't noticed that Sirius had stopped walking until she turned to look at him and he wasn't beside her. Lily spun around to find him a few feet back, just watching her with a curious expression on his face. "Sirius? Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry if I offended you."

"Nobody else has ever understood. Not even James. But I didn't even have to explain it to you; you just knew how I felt."

"Of course I did," she replied automatically, "it's exactly how I would feel."

"How about a butterbeer on me?"

"That would be wonderful!"

In a comfortable silence, the pair made their way to the Hogs Head. Neither of them had even attempted to head off toward Three Broomsticks. Sirius couldn't help but notice this. Most girls wanted to go to Madam Pudifoots or Three Broomsticks, but this vivacious raven-haired girl was heading straight for his favorite pub. Merlin, she must be heaven sent.

The place was empty, so they sat themselves at a table close to the door and when Aberforth came to ask them what they wanted to order, Lily squealed in delight, leapt from her seat, and hugged Aberforth tightly. She had only been a tiny girl the last time she'd seen him, but she would've recognized Aberforth Dumbledore anywhere. He had died years before, and her parents had been really torn up about it. Apparently, if it hadn't been for his help, they wouldn't have been able to overthrow Voldemort.

"Oh, Ab!" Lily gushed joyously, "it's spanking good to see you!"

"Do I know you, young lady?"

"Oh, I, uh, oh dear…" she trailed off uncertainly, "Could we just get two butterbeers please?" she sat back down in her seat quickly. Aberforth wandered off, mumbling something about 'nutters.'

"Did you know him?"

"My parents did. I suppose he didn't recognize me, I was really little the last time I saw him," she answered truthfully. They were quiet for a moment as Ab returned with their drinks

"You mention your parents a lot. What were they like?"

Lily choked on her butterbeer, spluttering, "Why would you want to know about them?"

"I'm sorry, I know it must be a really sore topic with you, since they just passed away recently. I shouldn't have been so intrusive."

"No, it's okay. I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell you just a little bit. My mother was a pureblood witch who was a Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies for a few years before she married my dad, and then she just wrote articles in the _Daily Prophet_ as a sports journalist. My father was a half-blood wizard who was an amazing auror. And I swear my brother Al is going down the same path-" she cut herself off, her eyes bulging as she realized her mistake.

"You have a…brother?" Sirius asked, obviously surprised. "Why hasn't he come to Hogwarts?"

"He…um…he's too young for Hogwarts!" she invented wildly, "he's only nine."

"Oh," said Sirius with dawning comprehension and also relief. She had mentioned some elusive 'Al' bloke a few times now, and he was strangely relieved that he was just her younger brother.

"So anyway," she plowed on, "that was my parents."

"They sound like great people."

"They were," she smiled fondly then shook her head to clear her thoughts and said, "tell me about you. What sort of things do you enjoy?"

He scrunched up his face, not wanting to talk about himself, "What's to say? My favorite subject is DADA, James and Remus are my best mates, I am in love with treacle tart, my favorite animal is a dog, and I really enjoy living life with a bit of danger in it."

His eyes sparked as he said the last line, looking at her importantly. Lily barely managed to swallow the butterbeer in her mouth. "I thought you hadn't decided if I was dangerous or not."

He stretched his hands out across the table, and took hold of hers, "I don't know much about you. As a matter of fact, most of what I do know about you I find hard to believe and I definitely think you're hiding something, but I don't think you're secretly a death eater or anything," he offered her an adorable half-smile. "But the world isn't split into just good people and death eaters. Things aren't always just black and white. I think that you are good…and dangerous."

"Would you like to know a secret, Sirius Orion Black? You are very, very correct."

He grinned broadly for a moment and then said, "See? Things like that! How did you know my middle name? I'm curious…what else do you know about my friends and I that we think are secrets?"

Truthfully, everything, but she couldn't tell him this. Instead, she opted for a shy giggle and a quick, "I'm nothing more than perceptive, Sirius, honestly. What do you do in your free time?"

"When I'm not getting into trouble with James, I like to read."

"Read?" she hadn't expected that answer.

"Yes," he grinned, knowing how his answer had sounded to her, "I really enjoy reading. I'm quite a good student, actually. I think that's our problem; James and mine. We get bored so easily with our school work that we try to find ways to cure our boredom. Which usually ends with detention."

"Anything else?"

He thought about it for a minute before saying, "I enjoy visiting with Hagrid. A lot of students think he's just a big oaf, but don't let them fool you. Hagrid has a heart of gold and he's a good man. Also, I, erm…" he paused, looked around to make sure nobody was listening and then whispered in a rush, "tutorkidsintransfigurationan dcharms."

"You…you're a tutor?"

Sirius scowled, "McGonagall asked me to, and I agreed as long as she didn't tell anyone about it. Well, I say that she asked me, but she more like blackmailed me! Sneaky old hag gave me an option; tutor or be expelled. But I kind of enjoy it. Please don't tell anyone though, not even James knows."

"I wouldn't dare," she assured him. Bloody hell, what was it about this man? How did he create such strong and sudden feelings in her? Everything he said and did was just so perfect. He was the man she'd been looking for her entire life, and she had finally found him! Yet he could never be hers. The thought made her heart literally constrict painfully and she felt she couldn't breathe for a minute.

"I believe you," and he did. As he stared into her chocolate brown eyes, something in him clicked into place. He knew then that he was feeling for Lily Granger what James felt for Lily Evans. A newfound respect for his best friend found its way into him then. He knew she was hiding something; that much was obvious. She knew much more than she should and it was extremely suspicious, but he just had a gut feeling that she was trustworthy.

"Merlin," he ran a hand through his perfect hair, "Have I really only known you one day? Blimey, it feels like I've known you a lot longer than that. Do people always feel so comfortable around you?"

"It's been known to happen," she joked as she swirled butterbeer around in her dingy glass. She would not let herself fall for this wizard. "Let's go," she downed the rest of her drink in two big swallows, "I have lots of shopping to do. Prepare yourself, Black, you're about to have a lot of packages to carry."

Sirius smirked at her, and followed her as she led him out of the pub. They went shopping in Hogsmeade, getting Lily new clothes and other random essentials. He said that 'Gryffindor red' was definitely her color. Whenever she tried on an outfit that was any other color, he would wave his wand and turn it red. Lily let him have his fun, secretly plotting to return her clothes to their original colors once she returned to her common room.

"To Diagon Alley, then?" she asked as she peered over at Sirius, who had charmed all of her packages to follow them around as they walked.

"How, exactly, do you expect to get there?"

"Apparate, of course."

"Alright then, take my hand," when he held it out to her, she eyed it carefully. _It's just a hand_, she told herself, but she still hesitated. Because it _wasn't _just a hand. It was a sexy manly hand with long supple fingers and she knew from experience just how strong they were. Not to mention, if she took it, she was letting herself become vulnerable to him. A wizard was always more dangerous company to keep than a muggle. If Sirius Black wanted, he could kill her with one flick of his wand. As a matter of fact, he could do just about anything he wanted. Put her under _Imperio_, bind her in ropes, make her forget things, and so much more. If she took the hand that was stretched out toward her, he could spin on the spot and take her _anywhere_.

Her suspicious eyes slid up from his proffered hand to his grey eyes. They were light, honest, and there was an open challenge in them. A challenge for her to trust him. With a sigh, she slid her small soft hand into his large rough one, and he turned on the spot.

When Lily opened her eyes, they were in Diagon Alley. Wizards and witches bustled around the busy street, wandering in and out of shops, making purchases. Still holding tightly to her escort's hand, Lily asked, "Do you have my list?"

Sirius nodded and pulled the piece of parchment out of a pocket in his robes, "Looks like the only things we will be needing from Diagon Alley are your school supplies."

"I would like a cat. And a broom."

"A cat?" asked Black with a wrinkled nose. Cats often times didn't like him at all.

"Yes, Black, a cat. I don't have any need for an owl; who would I send letters to? But an animal companion would be nice. Something soft that could cuddle up with me at night."

Sirius wanted to offer his service, as an Animagus who could turn into a dog, he would be more than willing to be a soft companion who would cuddle up with her at night, but alas that was one secret he was keeping to himself. But perhaps she already knew it? No, he wouldn't take the chance of spilling the beans about that one.

"Books first," he said wisely and guided her into Flourish and Blotts.

"Thank you," she told him quietly, looking intently at the rows of books, "for bringing me here safely. I've never let anyone outside of my immediate family apparate me anywhere."

Sirius smirked down at her. This was something he was used to; girls being shy in his presence, embarrassed to admit things to him. "I am in Gryffindor, love, chivalry comes with the territory." He winked at her.

"Yes, well, I appreciate that you didn't apparate me to some remote part of the countryside and murder me."

Sirius threw his head back and let out a bark like laugh, "You have got to be one of the strangest birds I've ever met!"

"Just the same, what books will I need?" She briskly changed the subject and snatched her list from him. He read her booklist over her shoulder.

"What classes are you taking, Lu-Lu?"

"Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Potions, Astronomy, and Herbology."

"Merlin's pants, you are taking a lot of classes!"

"I wanted to take Earth Magic as well, but Professor Dumbledore said that would be inadvisable since I was already taking so many subjects."

"I happen to agree with our Headmaster on this point," he said smugly. "You're almost taking as many courses as I am."

"You're taking more classes than me?" she looked at him angrily, as if he had personally offended her by taking on more subjects.

"Yes. You and I have the exact same schedule, except in addition, mine includes Muggle Studies."

"Muggle Studies?" she was astonished by this. Sirius enjoyed the shocked expression on her face for a few moments before replying.

"Yes, well, it started out being another way to piss my parents off, but I ended up really enjoying it. Plus, it's something entirely new to me so it's my most challenging subject. Transfiguration, Defense, Herbology, all of them are old hat to me. Muggle Studies," he sighed dreamily, "Now there's a subject that I'm not already entirely proficient in."

"Enjoy a challenge, do you?"

"About as much as you seem to," he grinned at her.

"Hmph," without comment she rummaged through the shelves, pulling out books seemingly at random, piling them into Sirius's arms. "That's all of them," she said at last, throwing _Practical Potions for the Practiced Potioneer _onto the top of the pile.

"Sure you're not getting in over your head here, Granger?" he asked skeptically.

"If you can do it, plus more, then I'm sure that I'm more than capable of handling it."

"Stubborn witch," he mumbled out of the side of his mouth.

"Come on, we don't have all bloody day!"

"Yes we do, it's Sunday."

"Exactly. It's Sunday. We have classes tomorrow and it's the third week of school. You must already be several chapters in to most of these books. I have a lot of reading to do tonight," as she spoke she sauntered up to the counter and pulled out her gold while Sirius banged the pile of books onto the counter.

"Tomorrow is only Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, and Astronomy," he said, "So you'll only need to read those books tonight. Save the others for another night. If you're buying a broomstick, we should go for a flight. We have an excellent Quidditch Pitch here. I'd be more than happy to show you around, if you'd like."

"I don't think that's a good idea," she refused to look at him as the cashier added up the total for her books.

"Why not? Don't tell me you're one of those witches like Evans who puts academics before anything else," he sounded disapproving.

"No, I'm not, it's just that…you might not find me very dangerous, but I find you dangerous. Not the good kind of dangerous, either," she added quickly, seeing as he was about to defend himself. Sirius Black and her association with him was the could-create-a-time-paradox-and-destroy-the-entire-universe kind of dangerous. Not the I-like-to-live-on-the-dangerous-side kind of dangerous.

"Not accusing me of being a Death Eater, are you, love?" His words were playful, but his eyes were dark storm clouds again. Sirius Black was a rather lonely and unique individual. He never felt like he really fit in with other Gryffindors, or people on the "good" side of the war because they always looked at him skeptically. Nobody ever believed him to be entirely innocent seeing his family and their beliefs.

Oppositely, Slytherins and those who were Death Eaters or supporters of Voldemort knew he would never side with them, and thus he was estranged by both sides to some extent. Of course, to the few people who knew of Remus Lupin's condition, they looked at him as if he were in the same boat as Sirius; untrustworthy. However, those who knew that Remus Lupin was a werewolf were few.

The only people in the entire world who didn't look at Sirius as if he were straddling the fence between good and bad were James and Remus. Even Peter seemed frightened of Sirius at times. Sirius rolled his eyes and snorted. Of course this girl would think of him the same way as everyone else. Of course she didn't trust him and thought of him being too dangerous for her. Even now she seemed uncomfortable in his presence.

He had told her at first opportunity that his parents had disowned him, in hopes of showing her how much he disproved of Voldemort. He had also made a point to express his interest in muggle things. _Interest_ in muggle things, not repulsion. Maybe if he showed her his motorbike she would realize that he wasn't a Death Eater? But alas, that was at home, parked in the Potter's garage. _Home_. To Sirius, home was a relative term. His home was Hogwarts, and where ever James was.

Yet he felt like even that was shifting. He had seen Lily Evan's resolve cracking recently toward James. What if she gave in? What if at the end of this year, he didn't just lose Hogwarts but also James? Where would his home be then?

"Sirius," Lily looked at him with a frown. Perhaps she saw the pain in his eyes as he came to the realization that she was suspicious of him. "I don't think you're evil. Not at all," she brought her hand up to his face, stroking the stubble on his jaw, "I just meant that I think you're dangerous to me. I could very easily become very addicted to you, Black, and I don't want that to happen."

Feeling as though she had revealed too much, Lily turned back to the cashier, who handed her a few knuts in change, and waved her wand at her pile of books. They joined the parade of packages trailing behind the duo as they made their way to the pet shop.

Lily Luna walked into the shop, sweeping her eyes only once over all the cages, tapped her chin thoughtfully and declared, "I'll take that one," and pointed toward a runt of a kitten that was a polydactyl. The kitten was entirely black, with single white dot right directly in the middle of his forehead and a white tip on the end of his long black tail.

"You haven't even held any of them," Sirius argued out of the side of his mouth as the worker opened the cage and pulled the kitten out.

"Sometimes, you just know what you want the moment you see it," she told Sirius evasively as she enveloped the kitten into a loving embrace and brought him against her chest. "What shall I name you, little one?" she murmured to the kitten who was now purring and rubbing his head against the bottom of her chin.

"Nothing common," said Sirius, making sure to stay away from the cat. He knew the moment he approached a cat too closely, it would hiss and scratch to get away from him.

"He reminds me of you, you know," she told Sirius with a sneaky grin.

"Because he's black?" asked Sirius with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, that, too," she mused mysteriously. Without telling him her reasons, she suggested, "Perhaps Padfoot is a suitable name."

"Absolutely not! Do you realize how confusing things would become if you ran around yelling 'Padfoot' all the time? I wouldn't know if you were calling me or that damned cat. Hold on there, where did you come up with that name, anyway? I don't believe I told you that's what my mates call me."

"I just know," she told him with a smile so charming that it was a match for Sirius's own.

Sighing, Sirius said, "If you insist on naming him after me, then at least use a name that I'm not called very often."

"Orion?"

"Orion…" he thought about it for a moment, then without consciously deciding to, he reached out to pet the kitten. To his astonishment, when his hand met the top of the kitten's head, the kitten purred even louder and stretched to get closer to Sirius. "I think he likes it."

"Orion," Lily repeated quietly, then asked the saleswoman, "How much?"

"Twenty Galleons."

"May I?" asked Sirius who was already reaching into his pocket.

"Oh, no, Sirius, you already bought me enough chewing gum to last me through my twentieth birthday and drinks at the Hogshead," Lily objected, already feeling as if she owed something to Sirius Black.

"I insist," he told her, gently pushing her hand away from her own pocket. "Here you are," said Sirius with a flourish, tossing twenty galleons onto the counter, "we'll also need some food for him, but the witch here can pay for that."

….

**A/N: I hope you are all enjoying reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it. I have a lot planned for it and I'm excited to see it progressing. I'm portraying Sirius as a complex character who acts differently in different situations, so at times he may seem a bit OOC but I did it that way on purpose. I want him to be a different guy around Lily than he is around his friends. I think it will make for really fun and interesting character development later on :D Let me know what you think!**

**Yours,**

**MofDA**


	3. A Beautiful Mystery

**Disclaimer: Every recognizable character, idea, place, event, etc. is from the brilliant mind of JK Rowling. I own nothing.**

**Author's note at the end :)**

…**..**

After putting all of her new things away in her dormitory, Lily Luna Potter set out to study in her favorite spot in the library. There was so much material for her to read that she sagged in defeat as she stared at all of her new textbooks. None of them were familiar titles to her. Not even any familiar authors.

As soon as they had returned from shopping, she'd done her best to avoid Sirius Black. Perhaps it was best for him to believe that she mistrusted him. She was more than interested in him, if she were being honest with herself. Being in his company gave her butterflies like she'd never felt before. Maybe he had that effect on all girls? She got the impression from those around her that he was a bit of a player, but then, she'd never actually seen any other girl _approach_ him.

"So you're Lily Luna Granger."

The voice sent shivers of bad vibes up her spine. She looked up to find a boy who looked a bit younger than her, but still rather handsome. He was a slightly gaunter version of Sirius. "Yes, and you must be Regulus."

He sneered down at her and asked, "So what are you? Half-blood? Mudblood? Blood traitor?"

"Blood status doesn't matter," she replied very calmly, still wearing a smile, "My mum was a pureblood, my dad was a half-blood, so what does that make me, I wonder? A three-fourths-blood?" her voice was sarcastically patronizing and Regulus' frown deepened.

Two blokes who were taller and wider than him came up on either side of him, looking like body guards. "This is Nott and this is Avery," he motioned toward either of them in turn, "You don't want us as your enemies, Luna."

"I don't want any enemies, actually. You were the one who started this."

"You started this when you started showing interest in my brother. My brother doesn't date. He never has, and yet you've been here for one day and have him whipped. What sort of love potion did you use?"

"You think I drugged your brother into liking me?" she asked in anger, "I'll have you know that I didn't slip him any kind of potion! If he is interested in me, then that is something that happened without any magical intervention."

"You don't know Sirius," said Regulus with a growl, "he's always been content being adored by girls from afar. He's never had a girlfriend, never even really liked a girl, but then you come along and he's chasing you around like a lost little puppy dog!"

"Wait…are you here because you're worried about your brother and you think I'm tricking him into liking me?"

Regulus shifted his weight uncomfortably and finally said, "No matter what he's done or said, Sirius is still my brother and I care about him. If you hurt him or if you are using him, you will regret it." He took a threatening step toward her and she cringed into her seat.

"Perhaps," said Nott as fingered his wand with purpose, "we should give her a small taste of what would happen if she upsets you."

Lily whipped her wand out and leapt to her feet in less than a second. All three boys took a step back, as they hadn't been prepared for her speed and daring nerve. "Touch me and die," she threatened, her wand aimed directly at Nott's chest.

"Oh, you're going to get it, you little bitch," Nott flicked his wand, but before Lily could even move to block it, a tall figure was standing in front of her and had just blocked the spell.

"Leave her alone," said a deep silky voice.

"Come on, Sev, she asked for it, you heard the way she spoke to us."

"You deserved it," said Severus Snape conversationally, "I wouldn't have intervened at all except three to one hardly seems fair. However I doubt you could beat her in a fair duel, Nott, with your amount of magical talent. Why don't you go cower under Regulus' skirt and leave Luna alone."

"Fine, Sev," growled Nott as he shoved his wand hastily back into his pocket, "I'll leave for now, but once you come to your senses, you know where to find me. It isn't like you to stick your neck out like that. I haven't seen you stand up for anyone since Lily Evans. Got a thing for Gryffindors, do you?"

Severus flicked his wand and all three boys were dangling upside down by the ankles, "Oi!" yelped Avery, "We're friends, Sev, let me down!"

"Maybe I should re-think my choice of friends," Severus sneered. He motioned for Lily to accompany him out of the library.

"You can't just leave us here!" Regulus screamed.

"Watch me," Severus said slowly, deliberately. He then led the way out of the library. Once they were in the corridor, he turned to her and said, "Regulus Black isn't someone you want to cross."

"Neither are you, it appears," she said with a small smile, "Thank you, by the way, for helping me out back there. I'm not entirely sure I could have handled all three of them at once."

"You were very fast on the draw," he motioned to her wand, which was still clutched in her hand.

"Yes, well, my father was somewhat obsessed with making sure I could protect myself."

"I don't blame him," he said sincerely, "you can't be too careful nowadays."

"Severus, it really means a lot to me that you stuck up for me like that."

"Something tells me that you would've done the same for me," he sounded a bit confused and Lily felt his consciousness brush against hers. She slammed her mind shut and blocked him from reading her thoughts.

"A skilled Occlumens?" he asked with interest, his eyebrows rising into his greasy black hair.

"A skilled Legillimans?" she mocked him.

Scowling he said, "I apologize for trying to enter your mind without your permission. I just don't know what to make of you, Lily Luna Granger. I was hoping to be able to see for myself if you are just some sort of trick Potter is playing on me. Gryffindors aren't usually that nice to me."

"Not all Gryffindors are the same, just as all Slytherins are not the same," she replied, "Plus, a skilled potioneer like you, I figured you would try to slip me Veritaserum instead."

"How do you know I'm good at Potions?"

"I can just tell. You seem to have the right temperament for it."

"Listen," said Severus at once, "I think you're a nice enough person. I didn't mind helping you out in the library, and I don't mind you being nice to me, but I am rather suspicious. Not to mention it seems as though you are with Sirius Black," he sneered the name, "and I'm..um..well I'm just not on the market."

So that was what was going on? Severus thought she had a crush on him? "Sev," Lily put a hand on his shoulder, and he stopped walking, turning to face her, "I know that you fancy Lily Evans. I don't blame you. Hell, I don't know how she has kept herself from falling for you," and she was telling the truth, "but I think she is starting to fall-"

"For James Potter, I know," Severus sighed and leaned back against a wall, "He always did like her and James Potter always gets whatever the fuck he wants," he looked so angry that Lily took a step back away from him.

"To be fair, you did call her a 'mudblood,'" said Lily.

"Once, and it was a mistake," Severus looked tortured by the memory and Lily regretted bringing it up immediately, "I have loved her since before we came to Hogwarts and she only ever thought of me as a friend. Then I was jumped by Potter's gang and humiliated in front of the entire school, and I couldn't even think straight, and it just slipped out. I have never regretted anything more."

"Maybe she will forgive you," Lily knew there was no hope for that, but she still wanted to console him.

He snorted, "I doubt it. I tried for a year to get her to forgive me but she didn't. So I gave up. She is better off without me, honestly. As much as I hate to admit it, Potter wouldn't hurt her the way I have. I think the reason I hate him so much is because deep down I know that in some ways he is better than me, that he deserves Lily more than I do. I have nothing to offer her, but he could give her everything, and I hate him for that. For choosing _her _when he could have any girl in the school."

"I don't think he could ever love her as much as you do, and that's saying something, Severus. Just as you have fancied her for years, so has he. Don't hate him for this. You just said yourself that you know he'll treat her right. That's as much as you can ask for, isn't it?"

Grudgingly, he said, "I suppose. Though I will never stop hating him. I can't stand to even look at him. If it wasn't for him and his idiotic mates, she and I might still be friends."

"You can't change the past," said Lily, talking to both Severus and herself as she couldn't help how her mind kept wandering to Sirius and how badly she wanted him, "but you can control your future. Learn from your mistakes and become the best man you can be, Severus Snape," Lily reached up, kissed his cheek, and then skipped off toward Gryffindor Tower.

Severus Snape reached up and touched the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him. Lily Evans used to do the same exact thing. As a matter of fact, Lily Evans and Lily Granger had an amazing number of things in common; their name, the way they walked, the fire that blazed in their eyes, the way they kissed his cheek. Having a feeling like he was just touching the tip of the iceberg on this subject, Severus slowly made his way back to the library, intending to find out as much as he could about the Granger family.

…..

"There you are!" said James as she came through the portrait hole, "We were worried about you!"

"About me?" She mocked, batting her eyelashes, "you do realize that I could hex you into oblivion, right? I can handle myself, Potter."

The boys laughed and James turned a light shade of red, "Really, Granger? How about we test that theory of yours then, eh? How about we have a wizards' duel?"

"Alright then, who's your second?"

Shocked that she had agreed, it took James a second before saying, "Sirius, of course. Who is yours?"

"Evans. Lily Evans."

From across the room, Lily Evans called, "Absolutely not! I am Head Girl! I should be stopping this kind of behavior, but if I'm letting it slide then I am definitely not going to participate in it!"

"Oh come on, Evans, pull that broomstick out of your arse and get over here," said Sirius moodily. Lily Luna gave a small laugh and Sirius winked at her. With a flick of his wand, James cleared all of the furniture out of the way and they stood back to back. Together, they counted their steps as they walked away from each other.

At the same moment, they spun to face each other, each screaming a different spell, "EXPELLIARMUS!" yelled James.

"STUPEFY!" yelled Lily. Expecting his spell, she snapped her wand up in time to perform a Shield Charm. James, however, resorted to diving to the side to avoid the jet of red light that shot past him from her wand.

"Nice one," said Sirius appreciatively, though she wasn't sure who he was talking to.

For several minutes they continued shooting spells at each other, blocking their opponents spells, and with a last desperate attempt to win, James thought in his head, "_Levicorp-"_

But Lily was faster, being skilled in Legillimans and Occlumency, she knew what he was about to do and blocked it. James looked astounded. Nobody had ever thwarted that spell, except Snivellus on occasion.

"How did you…" he began, but Lily flicked her wand and they continued to duel. They circled each other as they fought and eventually both of them were cursing like mad, spitting swear words through their clenched teeth as they panted from the effort they were exerting.

"How about we declare this a tie?" Lily finally offered.

James nodded and replied, "As long as that doesn't mean I lose."

"No," she said with a laugh as she held her side, still panting, "but you didn't win either."

He shrugged and collapsed into an arm chair that was the favorite of both of them. "You are very skilled, Granger, I'll give you that much."

"Thank you," she couldn't help but brag a little, "I am the daughter of the Savior of the Wizarding World after all."

Everyone within earshot paused to look at her with curiosity. Shit. Fuck. Damn it all to hell! Why had she said that? "The wizarding world doesn't have a savior," said Remus with a frown, "at least not that I am aware of. Who is your father?"

"Yes," said James, "What's his name? Perhaps we've heard of him?"

"I'm sure you haven't," she said dismissively, "I was just being…stupid. I didn't mean anything by it. It was just…an inside joke you wouldn't understand."

"Enlighten us," said Lily Evans dryly.

"I'd rather not," said Lily Luna, "anyway, phew, I am hungry after that duel, James! I am going to sneak down to the kitchens and grab a snack!" she stood up and started to walk away, but Sirius stopped her.

"You know where the kitchens are?" he asked, "and how to get in?"

"Shit," she hissed too low for them to hear, "I have really got to stop messing up like this." She turned to face them and said more loudly, "I figured I would just wander around until I found it."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," said James with a frown, "Come on, Padfoot, Moony, let's show her around."

"James Potter!" said Lily Evans severely, "I forbid you from leaving the common room after curfew! That is where I draw the line!"

"Calm down there, Evans, don't get your knickers in a twist," said James as he tapped her lightly on the nose, "Lu-Lu is hungry. Are you going to make her starve?"

Scowling, Lily Evans gave a noncommittal jerk of her head, and the three Marauders scampered out of the room with Lily Luna. That was when Lily Luna realized why her grandmother was acting so strangely; she was getting jealous of the attention James was showing her.

"You should ask Lily out," she said to James.

"He does," replied Remus, "everyday."

"Hmm," said Lily as she stroked her chin thoughtfully, "you need to find a really special romantic way to ask her out that will sweep her off her feet! She doesn't seem like the type of girl who will respond well to things that are public. You need to make yourself vulnerable in private, open up to her and just her. That way she will know you're sincere and she will be able to respond to that without everyone watching her."

"You. Are. A. GENIUS!" James cried as he grabbed her and hugged her, swinging her around, "Sirius, mate," said James to his friend as he set Lily back on her feet, "You are one lucky bloke to have a girl this intelligent!"

"Or unfortunate to have a girl this conniving and manipulative," Lily argued with a smirk before realizing what exactly James had been implying about her relationship with Sirius.

"Wait," said Sirius, suddenly looking like he might be sick, "I have a _girl_?"

"We just assumed you two were dating by the way you've been acting, and you went to Hogsmeade with her. Without us," said Remus importantly.

"I…just…we…good time," said Sirius absently. Lily smiled, having never seen him speechless before. Not even when she had surprised him with the things she had said in Hogsmeade.

"We are not dating," said Lily, dismissing the boys' assumptions, "I'm not particularly interested in anyone as a matter of fact. So, for now, I am on the market," she grinned, thinking of how Severus had used that expression earlier.

Sirius made a deep growling noise in his chest, and his friends knew that it was a warning that she was definitely not on the market as she claimed to be. Sirius knew, logically, that he wasn't in any danger of his friends making a move on her; James was too in love with Evans, and Remus refused to date any girl ever in fear of falling for her, or she for him. Remus fully intended on living his life alone, not wanting to risk passing on his genetic abnormalities or accidentally hurting someone he loved.

"I met your brother earlier," Luna said at a failed attempt to be casual.

"What?" Sirius asked in surprise.

"I ran into Regulus in the library. Actually, he sought me out. He said that if I was using a love potion on you he was going to make me regret it."

"Reg said that?"

"Yes, he did. Then Nott pulled his wand on me and was about to curse me, but Severus stepped in and left Nott, Regulus and Avery dangling by their ankles in the Restricted Section," she laughed at the memory, wondering if the three of them were still there.

"Snivellus did that?" asked James with distaste.

"Don't," Lily's voice was a growl, "call him that. He saved my arse in there."

"But why?" asked Sirius with suspicion.

"I was nice to him today. I went up and introduced myself and he's a really nice bloke."

"We are talking about the same greasy-haired Slytherin, right?" asked James, "Severus Snape, about this tall, hook nose, flaps around here like an absurd bat?"

"You had better stop making fun of him, Potter, or I will challenge you to a duel that I assure you I would win," she said in a warning, "but yes, that is who I am talking about."

"Damn," Sirius cursed, "if that's true then I owe him. What did you do to tick off my brother so much anyway? And Nott normally doesn't pull his wand on people."

"After Regulus threatened me if I was drugging you into liking me, Nott suggested that they give me a taste of what they would do to me if I upset Regulus. I pulled my wand out faster than any of them, but it was still three to one. I doubt I could have taken all three of them."

"I think you underestimate yourself," said James, "you held your own with me, and that's the best compliment I can give you. The only person who can beat me in a duel is Sirius, and even then it's only sometimes."

"Regulus is his brother. You don't think he might have a few tricks up his sleeve?"

"He might be better than the average wizard, but he still has nothing on us," said Sirius as they reached the portrait of the fruit bowl. Without thinking, Lily skipped forward, tickled the pear, and the portrait swung open.

"I'm not even going to ask how she knew that," said Remus with a shake of his head.

"Winky?" Lily asked as she saw a short house elf wearing a bow on her head. The house elf looked up at her and shook her head, her ears flapping.

"No, Miss, I is not Winky. Winky is not a house elf that I is knowing, Miss. You is calling me Dainty, Miss."

"Oh, hullo, Dainty, could I please get some treacle tart?"

"Of course, Miss," about five house elves appeared holding out treacle tart.

"My favorite!" said Sirius and James together, each helping themselves. Remus settled for just a cup of tea.

After they ate, Lily excused herself and ran upstairs. This was only her second night in the past and yet she missed her family. She felt more alone than she had ever felt before. What if she accidentally said too much? What if someone found out her secret? Looking around to make sure nobody else was in the dormitory, she pulled the curtains closed around her bed, flicked her wand and conjured up a vial.

She had already met two skilled Legilimens and was afraid that if they pushed too far into her mind, they would find out too much. With a sigh, she pulled out memory after memory, filling several vials. She didn't have to extract everything; just the incriminating stuff. Anything her father had mentioned about the Marauders, anything where Harry had mentioned the names of his parents, and particularly anything dealing with Sirius Black.

As she pulled out her books to study, a giggling Alice came into the room. "Oh, hullo," she said, biting her lip as if unsure what to say to the new girl, "I'm not used to people I don't really know being in our room," she said this almost apologetically, the shy girl blushing as she spoke, "are you settling in okay here? The castle can take some getting used to."

"I'm doing just fine, thanks," said Luna with a smile, "are the professors here nice?"

Alice looked almost relieved at how effortless this conversation was, "Oh, mostly. Slughorn doesn't bother much with you at all unless you are particularly talented. McGonagall is stern but fair, Flitwick is very kind, and Sprout is patient. I wonder if that's just a trait of Hufflepuff house?"

"I'd bet it is. It's awfully rare for any of them to have a temper, isn't it?" Luna commented.

Alice was still smiling, and Luna was getting the idea that Alice was almost always smiling, "Yes, I suppose it is. My boyfriend, Frank, he graduated last year, and he was almost put into Hufflepuff. Perhaps I should push his buttons and see if he has a temper or not?"

Both girls laughed playfully, and then Alice caught sight of the text book in Luna's lap, "Are you studying? I'm sorry if I bothered you."

"Oh, not at all, you're no bother! I'm not even sure where to start, really," she sighed in desperation.

"I'll get Lily," said Alice happily, "she always helps me study," without waiting for a response, Alice yelled down the stairs, "LILY!"

A moment later, a head of flaming red hair appeared and Lily Evans stepped in the room. Lily Luna Potter still had a hard time looking at her grandmother. She was so beautiful that it hurt. "What's up, Allie?"

"Luna needs to catch up a bit with seventh year course work. Do you think you could help her out?"

Lily Evan's startling green eyes looked carefully, calculatingly, over the girl before her. Sizing her up as if she were competition. "Yeah…alright…" she said this slowly, and Alice's smile faltered for a moment as she caught the coldness in her friend's voice.

"Oh don't give me that look," Luna was on her feet, "I know what you're thinking, Evans! You're thinking that you might as well keep your friends close but your enemies closer!"

Lily Evan's eyes widened; how had this girl known that was, essentially, the train of her thoughts? "What do you mean?"

"You think I'm some sort of competition, well I'm not! I don't fancy James Potter, nor does he fancy me. You think that the only reason he would be remotely nice to me is because he likes me, but that's just not true. He's sincerely a nice bloke, and if you would stop berating him for every little misdemeanor, you might be able to see past it and realize that he's not so bad. On top of it all, I happen to fancy Sirius, so stop looking at me like you'd enjoy nothing more than to hex me into oblivion!"

Alice was looking back and forth between the two Lily's anxiously, while Lily Evans looked thunderstruck. Luna flipped her long black hair over her shoulder haughtily and said, "_Well_? I'm waiting, Evans, where's my apology?"

Lily Evans's mouth snapped closed and after a short pause she said, "I'm sorry, Luna. I didn't mean to come off that way to you. You're…well, I reckon you're right that I was intimidated by how taken James seemed to be with you."

"Intimidated?" challenged Luna, "or jealous? Let's be honest here."

"Fine," growled Evans, "I was jealous! There, are you happy?"

Alice squealed in delight, "I _knew _you were starting to fancy him, Lils! This is excellent!"

Both Lily's shot her identical glares and Alice quickly went silent. "You're quite sure he doesn't fancy you?" Lily Evans asked quietly, shyly, as she looked down at her feet.

"Absolutely positive. Trust me, if he did fancy me, even in the slightest, Sirius Black would've killed him by now."

Grandmother and granddaughter smiled timidly at each other, Evans even giggled, "I reckon you're right. Sirius does appear to be quite taken with you, doesn't he?"

"I've never seen him appear to be the least bit smitten until you showed up," Alice added.

"Which reminds me," said Luna importantly, "Neither of you are to tell him that I fancy him. If you do, I swear on my magic I will make your lives as unpleasant as I possibly can."

"Same goes for me, about my feelings with James," Lily said. They eyed each other up for a moment, then both nodded in understanding.

"Now," said Luna, clambering back onto her bed, "I am going to start with Transfiguration, and your assistance would be greatly appreciated if you're willing to help."

"Yes, I would very much like to assist you with catching up in your classes," by this point all three girls were sporting small smiles, and Lily's widened noticeably as she climbed onto the bed with her new friend to start studying.

"Oh, my," said Luna as she flicked through the first chapter, "But I already know all of this…"

As it turned out, Lily Luna was several chapters ahead in every class she was taking. So instead of being tutored by Lily Evans, they studied together, practicing their nonverbal spells, charming random objects to sing the school song, and transfiguring their books into cauldrons.

James Potter and Sirius Black were lounging lazily in front of the fireplace. "What do you reckon all that noise is about?" asked James as he stared up the girls' staircase.

"Naked pillow fight," Sirius suggested with a wink, "three galleons."

"You're on, mate," they shook hands on it.

When Evans and Luna came down the staircase, laughing together, and reminiscing about the fun spells they'd been practicing, Sirius groaned and passed three galleons to his best friend; no naked pillow fight had taken place.

"Done studying then, Lu-Lu?" asked Sirius as he sprang to his feet, "Go grab your new Silver Arrow and we can go for a flight before we turn in."

"First of all," said Luna, "I think Evans would curse us if we tried leaving again after curfew. Secondly, I'm rather tired. I think I'll turn in early. Goodnight, James, Remus, Sirius," she nodded to each of them in turn, being sure to mention Sirius last.

Knowing that Sirius's eyes were on her the entire time, she turned away from them and went immediately back upstairs. "Bad luck, mate," said James with a frown, "maybe you weren't as smooth today as you thought you were."

"Bullocks," said Sirius, though his face betrayed just a hint of his doubt.

"We really should be going to bed ourselves," Remus interrupted Sirius's thoughts, "tomorrow is Monday. And Quidditch tryouts. As captain, James, you need to be prepared and well rested."

"Alright, alright," griped James, "Like a mother Hippogriff, you are, Moony."

"Full moon is next weekend," Sirius whispered, "he's just grouchy and tired because it's almost his time of the month," Remus rolled his eyes as his two best friends guffawed and they made their way up to their dormitory.

"I am not grouchy."

"Tetchy, isn't he?" James stage whispered.

Sirius snickered, "About as pleasant as an angry Cornish pixie."

Sighing, Remus pushed the door open and the three boys entered their dormitory, ready for a restful nights sleep. However, as Sirius stripped off his clothes and slipped lithely under the duvet, he knew he wouldn't be getting much rest that night. He had a more eventful day than he could ever remembering having. This girl was such a mystery. Such a beautiful mystery. And he was a Marauder, after all, and as everyone knew, a Marauder just couldn't let a mystery like this slip through his fingers without a bit of investigation.

…..

**A/N: Dun dun DUUUNNNN…what's going to happen with two boys investigating the mysterious new girl? Also, who do you think is going to come out victorious; Lily Luna in her attempt to avoid Sirius or Sirius in his attempt to get closer to her?**

**I know it seems like it's moving a bit fast, but they're not in love with each other or anything. They have just met, they're interested in each other, they fancy each other a bit, and they are both determined to do something about it…even if at this point they want to do opposite things about it. **

**I wouldn't consider this a slow or a fast story. Sort of balanced? There is a LOT more to the plot than just what goes on in this time period. There is also a LOT more to the plot than just the possible romance between Sirius Black and Lily Luna Potter. SPOILER ALERT: I am about to give you some spoilers about this story, so if you want to be surprised, stop reading NOW. If you want a spoiler or two, then here you go: Lily Luna will return to her own time, and when she does, the story will continue. I won't tell you who it follows after that or anything, but this story won't be over very quickly after she returns.**

**Okay, now for the important question…Do you think that between Snape and Sirius (both being suspicious of her), one of the two of them will figure out that she's from a different time? If so, who do you think will figure it out? Let me know!**

**Yours,**

**MofDA**


	4. Odd but Brilliant

**A/N: I apologize it has taken SOOO long to update this story. I've been busy with my other stories lately, not to mention holiday stuff, family stuff, school stuff, etc. but it's finally here! The next chapter! Yayyy. **

**I wanted to quickly address the review from Hushpuppy. I always appreciate constructive criticism, but I want to explain why I have portrayed Snape the way I have. This story, while being told in third person perspective, is still essentially from Lily Luna's point of view. In her mind, Severus Snape was a war hero. He was the wizard who loved her grandmother and saved her father's life. Of course she defends him and looks up to him for that. However, in my story, Snape himself said that he was into the Dark Arts, and it's obvious that all of the Marauders were upset when Luna mentioned her friendship with him. They were shocked that Snape stood up for her, and the reason why he stood up for her is because she reminds him of Lily Evans. Yes, Snape wanted to be a Death Eater and he was power hungry, but that wasn't ALL he was. He was a conflicted and messed up kid who wanted both love (or Lily Evans) and power. In the end he chose power, but he was still conflicted about it. I hope this clears up any confusion you have as to Snape's character. You will see more of his darker side, even in this chapter it comes out a bit. But you will see his softer side, too, because it is there. Even if it's usually hidden. **

**I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter as much as I do! Thank you so much for all of the amazing reviews!**

….

"Oh Merlin this is boring," Lily Luna stared at Professor McGonagall with her mouth hanging open.

"You could say that again," said Sirius in agreement. Luna groaned.

She wondered yet again how on earth she ended up sitting at a table with James and Sirius. Remus was a table away, sitting with Lily Evans. Luna didn't know which was worse; McGonagall repeating for the _third bloody time_ how important their NEWTs were, or the way Sirius kept looking at her from the corner of his eye.

Being the mysterious new girl to the entire school had it's pros and cons. A con was that she was now under intense scrutiny by nearly everyone. A pro was that she was very popular, which was something she was used to. It felt almost like home as people gazed at her in admiration as she walked up and down the corridors. It seemed that Lily Luna Potter simply wasn't destined to be considered normal. Not even in a different time.

"Tell me again why we couldn't skive off Transfiguration," James mumbled to Sirius.

"We skived off Transfiguration twice last week. The only reason old Minnie lets us get away with it is because she knows we don't need to be here. We should have signed up to take our N.E.W.T.'s early, like Snivellus, er, I mean…Snape did." Sirius said the name of his enemy grudgingly but Luna gave a jerky nod of approval.

James glanced over at Lily Evans and it was obvious what his reasons were for not opting to take his N.E.W.T.'s in January. It was also obvious that Sirius followed James' lead. Luna doubted she had ever seen two closer friends. "Miss Granger," McGonagall called suddenly, causing Luna's head to snap up at the sound of her fake name.

"Yes, Ma'm?" Luna stood up as she addressed the professor.

"Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but it seemed like you were on the verge of dozing off there. Is my lecture boring you?"

"Not at all," she smirked, "I was listening intently for any mistakes, but you seem to know what you're talking about."

The class made a collective "Oooh," sound. On her right side, James groaned. On her left side, Sirius barely managed to cover a laugh with a cough. In front of her, McGonagall turned beet red with anger and her lips thinned into near nonexistence. "If you are a professional on the subject," McGonagall's voice was shaking with rage, "then human transfiguration should be no problem for you. Go on then, astound me." Her blazing eyes narrowed on the teenager, but Luna didn't flinch.

She cleared her throat, brandished her wand, and with a sharp flick the entire classroom was void of students, they had all been replaced by large cows. McGonagall said nothing as she examined the cow closest to her, who had previously been Alice Fortescue. Although she didn't say anything aloud, Luna knew what she was thinking. It was impressive enough to turn one person into a cow. Even more impressive that she'd performed the spell silently. Yet even more impressive that she had somehow managed to turn the entire class into cows (aside from herself). The cows were flawless. The larger and more complex the animal, the harder it was to transfigure a person into it. The fact that cows were such a large mammal, not to mention had four stomachs, had McGonagall caught between being impressed and being very, very cross.

"Very well," she said, "but can you put them back?"

Luna nodded, repeated the wand motion, and her classmates had returned. "Blimey," said Sirius as he rubbed his jaw, "it's nice to not have the urge to chew on some grass."

A few people chuckled weakly. Most were just happy to be human again. "Detention, Miss Granger." Luna sighed, she had expected as much. The bell rang then and chairs scraped against the floor as the class scrambled to leave.

"Where did you learn that?" asked James, sounding impressed.

"I have a great aunt who used to teach Transfiguration at a wizarding school. She's been working with me ever since I first showed any signs of magical talent. If that had been Charms class, however, I probably would have made an idiot of myself. That's my worst subject, you know."

"Ah no, it looks like some Hufflepuffs are bullying Peter again," James said to no one in particular as he gazed at the short chubby boy who was being shoved against the wall so forcefully that his feet left the ground. For just a moment Luna felt pity, but it vanished just as quickly as it had come. "I'll go and rescue him then, shall I?" James straightened his robes and trotted off in that direction.

"Lucky for you," Sirius said as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, "I just so happen to tutor kids in Charms."

"Ha! I'm not so bad that I need a tutor," she said defensively.

"Are you sure?" Sirius inquired, his voice lowering an octave, "I would be more than happy to give you a few private lessons to make sure you're caught up on the subject." His tone was full of innuendos.

"I think I'll do just fine, thanks," in the crowded corridor, Luna jabbed an elbow into his ribcage and shoved past him, maneuvering through the masses until Sirius lost sight of her. She dodged into an alcove, waiting for Sirius to pass and she could make her way safely to lunch without him. Being around him was turning out to be bittersweet. She kind of liked the guy. But she shouldn't.

"Excuse me," said a voice over her shoulder. Luna jumped and nearly fell as she scrambled to turn around. She had been leaning back against what she had thought was a wall. She had been so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't even notice that it was much too warm and soft to be made of stone.

"Oh," she squeaked, her heart racing, "Severus, it's just you."

"What are you doing hiding in an alcove? If Nott is bothering you again, don't come running to me."

"No, no, it's nothing like that," she brushed off quickly. "Hang on," she stared up into his black eyes, "I'm a Gryffindor," she poked him hard in the chest, "I don't _hide_ from people chasing me! Unless, of course, it's Filch or a professor and I'm in trouble…but that's aside from the point! Don't mistake me for some cowardly snake!"

"Cowardly?" Severus hissed the word and spun her around, pinning her against the wall, his fingers digging hard into her upper arms to the point of almost being painful. "I'm not a coward. If you want a coward, look at that pathetic excuse of a Gryffindor, Peter Pettigrew."

Far from being scared, Luna frowned calmly and said, "Alright, you have a point there."

"You…don't think much of Pettigrew?"

"No, I don't. Why would I?"

"Because….he's a Marauder," said Severus as he released her and took a small step back.

"So? That doesn't make him a god."

"At Hogwarts, it kind of does," Snape said with venom.

"You're kidding me right? I mean, he was just being shoved around by a group of fucking _Hufflepuffs_. If Potter hadn't saved his arse, he would have been in serious trouble. By a bunch of blokes in yellow-trimmed robes whose house mascot is a _badger_."

Severus laughed silently, his shoulders rising and falling, and he shook his head as if unsure what to make of what Luna had just said. "Don't think much of Hufflepuffs either?"

"They're not all bad," said Luna, thinking fondly of her ex-boyfriend, Lorcan Scamander, who was still one of her best friends, "It's just that, you know, in general, a fight between a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff should have an obvious outcome."

Snape was gazing at her with a cold calculating look. "Stay away from me, Granger."

"What? Where did that come from? Aren't we, you know, sort of friends?" she asked hopefully.

He snorted, "No, we're not. Just like the outcome of a battle between a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor is obvious, so is the outcome of a friendship between a snake and lion."

"Philosophical much, snake boy?" She raised her eyebrows at him, but continued speaking before he could make a retort, "What were you doing in this alcove anyway? Not exactly a comfy place to hang out, is it?"

By this time, the corridors had cleared and Luna emerged from the alcove, brushing off her robes and turning expectantly toward Severus. "Avoiding your Marauder mates. Not _hiding _from them," he was quick to assure her, "just avoiding them. Running into James Potter and Sirius Black in a crowded corridor is worth at least two tripping jinxes, three bloody noses, and detention. It's not worth my time to scuffle with them."

"I heard you're taking your N.E.W.T.'s early," said Luna.

Severus rolled his eyes, "We're not having a conversation, Granger. We're not even friends. Just shut up and we'll walk to the Great Hall in silence."

"Au contraire, my newest Hogwarts pal, I say we are having a conversation."

"Bullocks, you're pushy!"

"Yeah, I am, what are you going to do about it? Going to leave me dangling by my ankle?"

"I'm thinking about it," he grumbled.

"Come on then," she said in a sing-song way, "Why are you so anxious to get out of Hogwarts?" He didn't answer. She reached toward him, taking hold of his arm to get his attention and he snatched his arm back, looking affronted that she had touched him. Confusion creased her forehead for a moment, but then she noticed the way he was holding his left arm protectively against his chest. The way his eyes looked panicked and she gasped in understanding. He was already a Death Eater. And she had unknowingly grabbed for the arm where his Dark Mark was.

"Don't. Touch me." The words came out like velvet poison and for the first time Luna saw what he had been talking about before. When he had warned her that he knew more Dark Magic than the Marauders could dream of. Of course she had known there was a darker side of him, but quite frankly, she just didn't care.

"Can I see it?" The question was out of her mouth before she even realized she had asked it. Luna wasn't sure if she was more curious or disgusted. There were pictures of Dark Marks in her DADA textbook back home, but only drawings. No actual pictures had ever been taken of them. After the fall of Voldemort the Dark Marks were barely even visible upon the forearms of his followers. In a certain light after saying a certain spell they could be seen, but only as fuzzy outlines.

Surely, with Voldemort so powerful during this time, the Mark would be inky black against Severus's pale skin. "See what?" he said it like a reprimand. Warning her not to go further with her assumptions. But what he didn't realize is that they weren't assumptions.

"I know," she said quietly, "that you have it. I don't want to turn you in to the aurors or get you expelled from school. I'm just…morbidly curious what it looks like. What it's like to see something so Dark and evil etched permanently into your skin like a magical brand on your very soul," the last few words were whispered so low that Severus barely caught them.

"I'm sorry," he said without batting an eyelash, "but I've no idea what you're talking about." Without any warning, he spun around and was gone with a swish of a cloak, leaving Luna staring after him in a bit of a daze. She shook her head as if to clear it and walked shakily to the Great Hall. In a way, she was thankful that Severus hadn't shown her his Mark. After all, she had no idea how she would react to seeing the symbol of the Darkest wizard the world had ever known. A wizard who had personally attempted to murder her family, and succeeded in killing a few of them.

When she reached the Great Hall, everyone was eating lunch. Her free hour was after lunch so she wasn't worried about showing up halfway through the meal. She took a seat between Mary and Alice, who were chatting excitedly about their boyfriends. Trying so hard to be rid of her own thoughts, Luna threw herself into their conversation with fervor.

"Who are you dating then, Mary? Alice already told me all about her dear Frank," Luna helped herself to a glass of pumpkin juice as she studied the girl. Mary MacDonald was not a name that Luna had heard mentioned in her own time. What was this girl's fate then?

"Eric Crawley. He's in our year," she said this without much enthusiasm. Luna frowned. This didn't seem like normal girl behavior. Even though Luna had only ever had one serious boyfriend before, Lorcan Scamander, she had always told anyone who would listen about how wonderful he was. Mary, however, mentioned her boyfriend as if it were no big deal.

"Oh, what house is he in?" Luna politely inquired.

"Ravenclaw," she said the word dismissively and her eyes darted quickly to the side. Luna followed her gaze to where Remus Lupin was sitting, rolling his eyes at something James was saying.

"Yes," said Sirius suddenly interjecting into the girls' conversation, "our darling Mary is a traitorous lion indeed. Fraternizing with the Ravenclaw Seeker so intimately," he waggled his eyebrows at her and her cheeks flushed red.

"Sod off, Black," Lily Evans growled as she wedged herself onto the bench between Luna and Mary.

"I was just making an open observation," he defended as he reached across the table to swipe food off of Luna's plate. She ardently ignored him and grabbed another chicken leg from the platter on the table.

"What are we discussing?" James asked, bringing himself and Remus into the conversation.

"MacDonald's poor choice of boyfriend," said Sirius around a mouthful of chicken.

Mary was now staring pointedly at her lap, not even eating. "Shut up, Sirius," snapped Luna angrily, "Mary is at perfect liberty to date whoever she wants. If you don't like Eric that's fine because your opinion on the subject doesn't matter a fucking bit anyway."

"Actually," said Mary, raising her eyes to stare at Remus, "I can't date whoever I want." The next moment she was off of the bench and halfway across the room, exiting the Great Hall with as much haste as she could manage.

"I'm sorry," said Luna to the people around her, "I didn't mean to start anything. I was just asking about her boyfriend."

"Not your fault," said Sirius, helping himself to Luna's second chicken leg, "It's just-"

"Shut it, Black," snapped Lily.

"Untwist your knickers, Evans, it's not like it's a secret. MacDonald fancies Moony here, but he keeps turning her down. Not unlike what you do to Prongs, I might add," he gave her a daring look while waving the drumstick in her face.

"That's entirely different," sniffed Lily with indignation, "I turn Potter down because he's an arrogant, egotistical, prat. Moony turns MacDonald down because….well, I can't even think of a reason. Mary's a great girl, Remus!"

"Did you ever consider the fact that she's simply not his type?" asked Sirius curiously.

"Oi! The real question here is what makes me so arrogant and egotistical?" As James spoke, he ruffled his hair nonchalantly and waved away three sixth year girls who were swooning over him. Lily rolled her eyes, not even bothering to answer his question.

"He should at least give her a chance. That's all I'm saying," said Lily.

"Come on, Prongs," sighed Sirius, "We had better hurry on over to Muggle Studies. If we're late again it will mean detention with Walters and I can't take another evening of explaining to First Years what please-men do."

"It's _police_ men, Black," said Lily with a chuckle, "Why did you even sign up to take the blasted subject anyway, you two?"

James and Sirius glanced at each other and Sirius said, "Well I took the subject to piss off my mum. Turned out I like it."

"I took the subject because if I'm going to have muggles for in-laws one day then I bloody well better know a bit about them," James winked at Lily and set off out of the Great Hall.

…

_Dear Diary…er..that sounds childish. Let me try again. Dear Journal. No, that's not right either. Maybe I won't address an inanimate object. These are personal thoughts and feelings, so perhaps I should simply address it to me. Dearest Lily Luna Potter. We had a crazy day today. No…scratch that. I sound like I have a multiple personality disorder. I give up. DEAR NOBODY OR NOTHING INPARTICULAR. Much better. Ahem._

_First week at Hogwarts in the year 1977 is going swimmingly. Hah. Yeah right. I wish. No, things are a disaster. My grandparents don't look anywhere near dating at the moment. Severus Snape isn't the hero I imagined him to be. Albus Dumbledore hasn't spoken a word to me since my arrival here, and Sirius Black is fucking gorgeous. Stupid…fucking…Sirius Black. _

_I have made a few new friends. Both of my grandparents are awesome. James Potter and Lily Evans. Wow. I didn't think it was possible for a bloke to be even cockier than my brother, but my grandfather truly takes the cake. He struts up and down the corridors with crowds of girls trailing after him like he's been voted most eligible bachelor in Witch Weekly. My gran is something else all together. She's proud. Very clever and intelligent. _

_Remus is a hard one to figure out. I never pictured him to be so quiet. After all, Teddy is extremely loud. But his father is quiet, thoughtful, and seems almost fearful a lot of the time. He refuses to date and I'm pretty it's because of his condition. Although I'm not technically supposed to know about that. _

_Peter is almost exactly as I pictured him to be. He's not really a part of the Marauders the way the other three are. He just sort of tags along after them and is popular by association. I get the impression that James likes to have a bit of an entourage, Remus is kind and is genuinely nice to Peter, and then Sirius basically ignores him most of the time. Sirius caught me staring in Peter's direction the other night, and said that while Peter can be exceptionally annoying, he is still a 'good kid at heart.' Can you believe that? Cadswallop. _

_I suppose I should bring my rambling to an end. I have detention with Professor McGonagall in fifteen minutes. Can you imagine? Aunt Minnie, giving me detention! My first year at Hogwarts half of the professors were too intimidated to give me detention. Who wanted to punish the girl whose entirely family were war heroes? Then when I got older and they discovered what a firecracker I was, they changed their minds right quick._

_Well, off I go. Wish me luck. Hopefully I'll get to traverse into the Forbidden Forest! I heard Hagrid saying a new Centaur was born the other night. What's a baby Centaur called anyway? A calf? A cub? A kid? Maybe I should ask Hagrid. _

_Cheers!_

_Lily Luna Potter_

….

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Come in." Luna slowly pushed open the door to Minerva McGonagall's office. It was pleasant. Not unlike her actual home, it felt comfortable and familiar. With relief, Luna sank into the chair in front of the large desk. "Have a biscuit, Miss Granger."

Luna reached eagerly for the tin before stopping herself and looking up curiously at the woman, "They're not poisoned are they? I thought I was coming here to be punished. Not eat sweets."

McGonagall bestowed a small, tight lipped smile, on her before replying, "I assure you there is nothing amiss about them. I was planning on having you wash dishes with the House Elves after dinner, but when Professor Dumbledore heard of your punishment, he told me of your peculiar circumstances and mildly suggested that I go a bit easy on you," as she spoke her eyes softened a bit.

"Oh. Well, I see. I thought he already told you that my parents were recently deceased and my new guardian is-"

"He told me the _truth_, dear." Luna froze. In that moment, Minerva McGonagall's face looked kinder, softer, reminding Luna of Minerva's older self. She swallowed the lump in her throat at that thought. What if she never got to see _her_ Aunt Minnie ever again?

"May I ask what he said?"

"He said that you are from the future. That you ended up here accidentally as a result of a mishap with a yet-to-be-invented device called a Time Turner?"

"Is that…all he said?"

"Yes. Is there more that I should know?"

"No, no, that's everything," Luna expelled a deep breath of air she had been holding. She wanted so badly to spill everything. To tell this woman, whom she trusted, about how odd it was for her to be with her grandparents. About how strange it was to walk the halls of Hogwarts and yet not recognize all of the faces.

"Very well, you may return to your common room. But if you act up in class like that again, I _will_ give you detention!"

"Yes, Ma'm!" Luna jumped up from her seat and scurried out of the room quickly. Sweet Merlin, her Aunt Minnie had been a terrifying professor.

…..

What was she to do with this unexpected free time? Grinning widely, she could only think of two places she wanted to be; which should she go to first? Skipping down the stairs, she walked right out the front doors of the school, down to the Quidditch pitch. Of course she didn't have her broom with her. The school brooms would be locked up in the office of Madam Bulstrode, who taught flying and was the referee for the Quidditch games.

Humming to herself, she flicked her wand at the lock to the door and it opened with a click. Glancing left and right, she dodged into Madam Bulstrode's office. About 50 brooms were on one wall, and on a shelf in the corner sat the box Luna was looking for. She grabbed the best looking broom of the lot, which was still pretty sad looking compared to her Lighting Bolt 360, then snatched the box from the shelf and dodged quickly out of the room, locking the door behind her.

What she really wanted to do was practice her Chaser abilities. Back in her own time she was about to start her seventh year of Hogwarts and she would need to be at the top of her game. She was the captain, after all. However, it was nearly impossible to practice being a Chaser by yourself. Instead she pulled out the Golden Snitch. She held it in her hand tightly, closing her eyes, making a silent wish as if it were a good luck charm. "Please," she whispered to it, "please let me be able to return home. Even if its not right away, I don't want to be stuck here forever." Her fingers uncurled and the golden wings took off in a flutter. Luna kept her eyes closed. In her head, she counted to 30.

When she opened her eyes, the Golden Snitch was nowhere in sight. Delightedly, she hopped onto the broomstick and took off into the sky. After a few moments she completely forgot what she was supposed to be doing. It just felt so wonderful to be up in the air again. Three Twirls, five loops, and a quick Wronski Feint later, she heard applauding below her. "Ah, shit," she moaned. It was Remus Lupin.

She braked, started to descend, and that was when she saw it. The Golden Snitch was fluttering practically on top of Remus's foot! Swooping down, she laid herself flat against the broom and rocketed toward it. The flimsy school broom was vibrating beneath her, protesting at her high speed but she didn't relent.

As expected, she crashed right into Remus. "Oof!" he spluttered. The two of them tumbled several yards in a tangled mess of limbs before finally stopping. Remus was flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him, and Luna was straddling him triumphantly, with a huge grin on her face and the Golden Snitch held tightly in her right fist. "Ah-ha!" she cried.

Her raven black hair, which naturally always fell perfectly in place, was mused and her clothes were rumpled. Her shirt had ridden up, exposing her midriff and her skirt was hiked up around her hips. It had been a bit foolish of her to fly around the pitch in a skirt, but she didn't want to waste time to change. Remus was in a similar state. Their tumbling and thrown his cloak off of him completely, and his clothes were also rumpled.

"What the bloody hell?" she glanced over to see Sirius, Peter, and James headed their way. It was only then that she noticed how all four of them were dressed entirely in black. What were they doing out on the grounds in the early evening dressed in such ninja-like attire? Her mind immediately began to run through a list of mischievous possibilities.

"Hullo," she said brightly.

"What the fuck are you doing on top of Moony?" Sirius's face had drained of color. It was as pale as the moon that had just started peeking up on the horizon. _The moon!_ It was a full moon tonight! They must have been on their way to the Whomping Willow!

James's face was beet red as he spluttered around, trying to find something to say. Luna glanced down. Merlin, her black bra was even poking up out of her shirt as two of the buttons had snapped off of her school uniform. They must really look a sight. "Nothing!" Remus squeaked as he squirmed beneath her, trying to get away.

Luna squeezed her thighs tighter around him and crooned, "Don't be so embarrassed, babe, they're your friends, you can tell them," she waggled her eyebrows at him.

"Luna!" Remus cried in indignation, "Tell them the truth!"

"But I am, love," she gave a little shimmy and said, "imagine how far we would have gotten by now if they hadn't stumbled upon us."

Sirius drew his wand, aiming it at Remus. James jumped in front of him, "Calm down there, mate!"  
"I'm going to hex his fucking balls off! Get off me, James, GET OFF!"

"Moony's our friend, put your wand away, you prat!"

"What if that was Evans right now, Prongs?" snarled Sirius. James's face fell. Shit. He knew that if he caught one of his friends messing around with Lily Evans he would attack them. But this was _Sirius_. Surely Sirius didn't feel for Granger what he felt for Evans. He had only known her one bloody week!

"That's not a valid argument," James said quickly, "normally, I'd be right behind you in a duel, mate, you know that, but just think about this for a minute. Do you _really_ think that _Moony_, our Moony, was really messing around with Lu-Lu on the Quidditch Pitch? Even if you could entertain the idea, would he really be doing it _tonight_, right now, of all times? Use your head, Pads."

With one last glare at Remus, Sirius tucked his wand back inside of his cloak. "I suppose not."

"Thank Merlin," groaned Remus, who was still flat on the ground, "Now someone get this crazy bint off of me! She was playing Quidditch for Godric's sake! Instead of landing like a normal person, she decided to fly right into me. _That's _what happened, and if you don't believe me, look at what's in her hand."

Guiltily Luna stretched out her hand and they could all see the tiny fluttering wings sticking out from between her fingers, "I was going to land like a normal person, but then I spotted the Golden Snitch hovering around Remus's foot. I went for it. That's all that happened." She explained defensively.

"Where did you get that?" James asked, drawing his eyebrows together.

"Nicked it," she said casually.

James threw his head back and roared with laughter. "Good luck with this bird, mate," he said, clapping Sirius on the shoulder, "She's almost as bad as us! I'll eat my shoe if you somehow get her to agree to a date with you!"

Sirius smirked, "I'm not concerned," Luna crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes blazing. How dare they talk about her as if she wasn't even there! "I'll bet you ten galleons I'll have a date with her by the end of the month."

"You're on!" They shook on it.

"Um, excuse me, Luna, but could you please get off of me now?"

"Oh! I'm sorry! Yes, of course," she leapt up and brushed off her skirt. "Where are you all headed anyway?"

They all shifted their weight and looked at each other uncomfortably before Peter finally said, "For a walk."

"Yes," agreed James, "for a walk."

"I'll believe that when nifflers fly," she snorted.

"Perhaps you should be rethinking your taste in girls," Remus muttered to Sirius from the corner of his mouth, but Sirius just kept grinning broadly at her as if he had never seen anything so engaging before in his life.

Knowing she probably shouldn't push any further, as the moon was rising swiftly, and it was Remus's secret to keep so she shouldn't pry, she said, "Whatever. You don't have to tell me. I'm going to put this broom away and visit Hagrid."

"You know Hagrid?"

"Well, I, I've seen him around," she bumbled, "at the, you know, staff table, and stuff. I thought he was a pretty nice bloke. Fancied a chat with him about dragons and whatnot. Okay, have a good walk, bye!" and she practically ran away from them, heading toward the broomstick that lay in the middle of the pitch.

"Odd sort of girl, isn't she?" Peter said.

Sirius was smiling like no one had ever seen him smile before. He didn't hesitate to say, "She's brilliant."


	5. Almost

**A/N: I have been busy this week, but I am going to try really hard to update this story more often. At least once every two weeks is my plan. Maybe more. I actually wrote the chapter AFTER this one before I wrote this one. This is an important chapter as Sirius and Luna each think seriously about each other and they each ask themselves how they feel about the other. It's also important as James steps up his game with Lily! So excited for this story, hope you all are as well!**

**Yours,**

**MofDA**

…**.**

Avoiding Sirius Black while trying to get close to James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Lily Evans proved to be a difficult task indeed. Every time Luna turned around, Sirius was there trying to engage her in conversation, attempting to impress her, or flirting with her incessantly.

When he wasn't doing one of those things, she was watching him. Taking note of where he was, what he was doing, almost constantly. She hated herself for it and yet she couldn't stop. Almost four weeks she had been there now. Such a short amount of time, yet she was certain she was falling in love. To her, 'falling' was the key word there. She had not yet _fallen_, nor would she let herself.

He was just so…so…perfect! She loved the way his dark brown hair fell perfectly in place on top of his head. The way his storm-cloud-coloured eyes would spark with mischief at random moments and she ached to know what he was thinking. Mostly, she loved how fiercely loyal and brave he was.

Lily Luna Potter was not accustomed to this feeling. Normally, people felt that way about her. How many times had blokes at Hogwarts approached her, professing love, telling her how beautiful and wonderful she was? Like Sirius Black, she was used to being adored, but not used to being the one to do the adoring.

One time during Potions class, she accidentally blew up her cauldron because she watched some Ravenclaw bint flirt with Sirius and stroke his arm. Slughorn had laughed off the incident and extended her an invitation to join him and 'a few other promising students' for dinner a night that week. She had politely declined the invitation.

Ever since the incident in the deserted corridor, Severus Snape had avoided her like Dragonpox. Whenever she attempted to engage him in a conversation, he turned very nasty very fast. One time he went so far as to threaten throwing her off of the top of the Astronomy Tower.

Unfortunately for Snape, he happened to say that with Sirius Black and James Potter listening close by. They received two weeks worth of detentions for the jinxes they performed on him. "The professors know us a bit too well," James grumbled after returning from his third night of detention, "they've separated us so we have different detentions."

James was stuck helping the House Elves in the kitchens while Sirius was polishing all of the suits of armor in the Charms Corridor. Luna noticed that Lily Evans was becoming increasingly aware of James Potter; her gorgeous almond shaped eyes following him around a room whenever he moved. James, however, was oblivious to this as Lily was crafty about it.

As James Potter departed for his fourth night of detention, Luna thought up a brilliant scheme. "Luna," Remus Lupin said politely, "would you please pass me that ink well beside you? I want to get started on my Charms essay."

Luna leapt to her feet, completely ignoring him, and raced up the girls staircase. "Well that was rude," commented Peter.

"You know women," said Remus, "barking mad, all of them."

….

"Lily Evans," said Luna as she came into the dorm room. Lily looked up from her homework. "We're going to get a late night snack."

"No, we're not. For the billionth time, I am _Head Girl_. Just because those prats in the common room think they run the school doesn't mean you can do anything you want. We're not supposed to be in the kitchens without special permission."

"Oh, quit being such a princess." Luna grabbed the Head Girl's arm and dragged her out of the dorm. For all of her talk, Lily Evans didn't put up much of a fight as she was dragged all the way down to the portrait of the fruit bowl. Luna tickled the pear and they entered.

"Oi! No one is supposed to – oh. It's you two." James had started to scold them, but then realized who it was. He was standing at the sink, with an apron on, washing dishes.

A house elf at his elbow was saying, "That's not clean enough, Sir. Professor Dumbledore said you is to really put effort into it. Make the plates shine, Master Potter."

Lily sniggered, "Being bossed around by a House Elf now, Potter?"

James smirked, "I can be submissive when I want to be. Want to boss me around sometime, Evans?"

Lily flushed, wondering how the hell he turned her insult around on her. But that was just part of the allure of James Potter. "Actually," Luna intervened, "we're a bit hungry. We want you to dig us up some food, James. What have you got?"

James wiped off his hands on the apron that was tied around his waist, causing Lily to snigger but not comment. He made his way over to a giant pantry, opened the door and stepped in. "Looks like we have all sorts of stuff, Luna. What were you in the mood for? There's cocoa here, do you fancy a hot chocolate? Oh, look, we have soup, too. Blimey, there's all kinds of soup-"

"Oi!" Luna had very forcefully pushed Lily Evans into the pantry. Then she slammed the door shut and flicked her wand to lock it magically. No, '_Alohomora_' would be able to get them out. "Open the door, Granger, or Merlin help me, I will make sure you have detention every night for the rest of the year!"

"What was that, Evans? Sorry, I couldn't hear you. Did you say you want me to leave you locked in there with Potter for the rest of the year? Alright then, I'll just go on back to the dormitory. You two have fun now!" and she skipped, humming to herself all the way back to Gryffindor Tower. When she arrived, however, she realized that it wasn't where she wanted to be. Without entering the common room, she turned and skipped off in the opposite direction.

…

"Damn it, she charmed that door! No matter what spell I use, it won't come unlocked." Lily Evans was practically climbing the walls. James, however, had made himself at home, sitting on a box in the corner of the pantry.

"She'll come back eventually," he stretched himself out casually.

"Why don't we tell the House Elves to get us out?"

"They don't take orders from us, just from the professors."

Lily clucked her tongue and paced around the small room. "At least we won't starve," she joked.

James chuckled, "I knew you had a sense of humor somewhere."

"Bugger off," she said but her tone was playful. Sensing a small weakness in her, James brought his wand up and with a graceful flourish and swirly motion, he conjured a beautiful bouquet of snapdragons out of midair. Her eyes betrayed her, showing joy at the sight of the gorgeous blossoms. "Snapdragons," she said in astonishment, "they're my favorite…how did you know?"

"I pay much more attention to you than you realize," he answered honestly. He offered them to her and after just a moment of hesitation, a broad smile graced her beautiful face, and she scooped them out of his arms.

"Where am I going to put them in here?" she asked.

James didn't waste a moment. He leapt to his feet and magically conjured up a vase large enough to hold them. "There," he said proudly.

"You're astounding, did you know that? James Potter, you're something else," she teased.

"That's what I've been trying to get you to realize for years now, Evans. Honestly." He teased as sat back down on the unoccupied box. Lily wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her arms. "Cold?" he asked.

"A bit," she grumbled and began pacing again. James sighed.

"Here, take this," he shrugged out of his school robes, leaving him in a pair of muggle trousers and a plain black t-shirt.

"Thanks," she said shortly and pulled it on over her own. It was much too big for her, but it was warm. She couldn't help but take just a light whiff of it. It smelled like James Potter always smelled; of broomstick polish and the smell of sparks and something that was…uniquely James. The broomstick polish, of course, was from his broomstick that he was always handling and caring for. The spark scent she attributed to all of the magic he was constantly performing. However, the scent that was uniquely his own…that was what truly made Lily Evans weak at the knees. It was a tad spicy, all manly, with just hints of soap and it was wonderful.

"We'll probably be here for a while," he said eventually, "you might as well sit down."

Lily considered, huffed, then dropped down onto a barrel next to James's box. "I'm going to give her detention every night from now until Christmas!"

"Why do you reckon she locked us in here?" The question was slightly rhetorical and James raised his eyebrows at her as he awaited her response.

"A prank," said Lily with a wave of her hand, "she must have thought it would be laugh to lock us in here because of how much we argue."

"Huh," said James, "I was thinking something entirely different."

Lily wanted to ask, but she was also afraid. When James Potter asked her out in front of crowds of students it was so easy to say no. So easy to watch the people nearby laugh and see the spark in James's eyes that said he would keep trying. She often wondered if he only asked her out because of the attention.

However, here, with just the two of them, locked in a pantry, it would feel so intimate. Lily didn't think she could turn him down. She didn't think she would want to. Fancying James Potter was something she promised herself she would never do. Then, toward the end of sixth year, her mind was starting to change. Now, two months into seventh year, she was certain she wanted him.

Lily wondered if perhaps he liked her only for the chase. It seemed like every time she shot him down, he was more determined to win her over. As she watched, James yawned, stretched, and propped his hands behind his head leaning against the wall. Her eyes raked over his body and the shiver she felt wasn't entirely from the coolness of the pantry. His trousers were slung low on his hips and when he had his hands stretched up like that, it pulled his shirt up enough that she could see just a bit of his stomach.

James had seen her shiver. If it were any other girl in this blasted castle, he would have assumed it was because he did look roguishly handsome this evening, if he did say so himself. But this was Evans. He knew her shiver was brought on by the chilly air, not his stunningly attractive good looks. "Come here," he sighed and scooted over.

Lily's eyes widened, "What?"

"Don't be a prude, Evans, get your arse over here and let me try to warm you up. Not," he said quickly, catching the expression on her face, "like that. In an entirely platonic way, I assure you. Just…pretend I'm Remus or something. You wouldn't hesitate to cuddle up with him," this was said grudgingly.

"Yes, well that's because I trust Remus to keep his hands in appropriate places."

James rolled his eyes, "I wouldn't touch any part of you that you didn't want me to touch," he promised, "although I'm sure there are several parts of you that you _do_ want me to touch, you just won't admit it."

Lily gazed warily at the portion of the box that was open for her to sit on. Next to James. He offered to _cuddle _with her. Maybe it would make it easier if she pretended he was Remus. She wouldn't feel this awkward at least. Very slowly, she inched to the edge of her barrel then slid over to James's box. Careful to not make any quick movements, James deliberately (but cautiously) lifted an arm and draped it around her. "Not so bad, is it?" he said the words softly.

"No, it's not," she whispered. She was looking up at him, her head resting on his shoulder. She really did feel cold, James noted. But he wasn't looking at her. He was staring at the ceiling and Lily wondered what he was thinking about. Abruptly his face turned downward and she found her eyes locked with his. They were a wonderful hazel colour. Like the color of caramel with flecks of forest green thrown in. For a moment she felt hypnotized, unable to even blink. James must have sensed it. His eyes darkened, the pupils dilated. She couldn't help it. She tilted her face up just a bit. James's hand came up, resting just under her chin. Lily's tongue swept over her lower lip and James watched it. Gently, he brought his face down to hers.

…..

Sirius Black came into the common room whistling, twirling his wand between his fingers. His eyes immediately sought for his best mate. "Oi! Remus," Sirius flicked his wand, ruffling the pages of the book Remus was reading across the room. "Where's Prongs?"

"Detention still," said Remus, not looking up from his book.

"He's normally back before me," Sirius noted. "Where's Luna then?"

"She and Lily went to the kitchens for a snack. They must still be down there."

Sirius snorted, "Well, that explains why James isn't back yet. I'll see you later, mate."

Half-heartedly, Remus called after him, "Be back before curfew!"

Sirius made his way to the kitchens lithely. Strutting around the corners with a fitting grace. His parents would say it was his "_pureblood_" status that made him come off so regal, but Sirius knew better. It had nothing to do with his parentage or his surname. It was his own unique confidence and arrogance that made him the way he was. Take Regulus for example. He walked with slightly hunched shoulders and a sneer always on his face. Sirius chortled at the thought.

When he entered the kitchens, he was surprised that it was empty except for a few remaining house elves who were cleaning up the last few things before retiring to bed for the night. "Master Black, Sir," squeaked an elf bobbing beside him, "What is you looking for?"

"James," he said absently, "he had detention here didn't he?"

"Oh, yes, Sir, he did. He and Miss Evans is in the pantry, Sir."

"Well well well," said Sirius while waggling his eyebrows. "Perhaps I should just leave them alone then." If it were any of his other friends, Sirius would have wrenched the door open and caught them snogging, but this was James. His best mate. Not to mention he had been after Evans for_ever_. He couldn't bring himself to disturb whatever risqué activities were going on in there.

"Miss Granger locked them in there, Sir," said the House Elf, "They is not happy to be in the pantry."

"Oh?" Sirius inquired. "Why didn't you let them out?"

"Miss Granger locked it with a spell, Sir, and we is not to be doing magic unless it is necessary for our work. We is only to be doing magic if we must."

"Ah, damn," Sirius muttered. Now he was in quite the dilemma. Let them out? Perhaps that would be the better thing here after all. He made his way to the pantry and tapped the handle with his wand. He heard the lock click. He grinned. Luna Granger may be good, but he was better. _There are other ways to unlock doors, sweetie,_ he thought,_ other than Alohamora._

At the sight before him, Sirius nearly dropped his wand. James and Lily were snuggled up together in the back corner of the pantry. Sitting on what appeared to be a box. Their faces were less than an inch apart and he realized instantly that if he had waited another moment before opening the door, he would have caught them snogging.

As it was, they jumped away from each other when Sirius opened the door, and Lily was furiously straightening her robes as her face turned bright red. James on the other hand looked entirely unaffected. A bit annoyed, perhaps, that Sirius had prevented their kiss, but he wasn't embarrassed in the slightest, as Lily obviously was.

"I'll, uh," Sirius Black was never at a loss for words. This simply didn't happen. Clearing his throat, he said crisply, "I'll leave you two alone, shall I?" and left.

Shaking his head, he began to wonder where Luna was. His mind wandered to her more often than he would like to admit. James was the only one who knew how deeply his feelings were for the girl. Remus and Peter knew he liked her. Hell, he was sure most of the school knew he fancied her, but James alone knew to what extent.

Sirius had never felt anything like this. He had never dated anyone before. At least, not seriously. He had taken a few birds out to lunch on Hogsmeade weekends, but that was only to get them to snog him. Although during the summer holidays he had been known to date a couple of muggle girls, but that was only to piss off his parents.

He never imagined himself with a girl before. Whenever he and James had an honest chat about their futures, James was always the one who saw himself married (to Lily, of course) with kids and a house with a white picket fence. The whole shebang. If there hadn't been a war going on, Sirius would have wanted to be a curse breaker for Gringotts. Traveling, adventure, battling a few not-so-dead mummies in Egyptian tombs. Yes, that would have been his ideal life. But because of the war that had changed. He had so much gold he didn't know what to do with it.

He didn't _need _a job at all. The money in his account at Gringotts would easily sustain him the rest of his life. He now saw himself living in a flat. Alone. He knew that Remus or Peter would be willing to be roommates with him, but he didn't want that. His free time would spent doing whatever he could to help the Order of the Phoenix. James, Peter, Remus, and himself had all already agreed that they would join the moment they graduated.

Now, however, he began to think what it would be like if he was in love. If he and Luna Granger fell in love, what would his course of action be? He felt his stomach twist into knots at the thought of her joining the Order. James had to. If he loved Lily Evans and they ended up together, James would have to join the Order to protect his muggle-born wife. But Luna wasn't muggle-born. She had told him she was half-blood. They could stay safely out of the way. His stomach twisted at that thought as well. He couldn't let his friends risk their lives in battle on a daily basis and not be willing to do the same.

Merlin, this girl was going to be the death of him. Then again, maybe they wouldn't fall in love at all. Too bad he was certain he already had. He had asked James a few nights previously how he had known he was in love with Lily Evans. James had scrunched up his face and replied, "I just knew. I looked at her one day, and I realized I never wanted to spend a single day without her. It was like she had me under _Imperio_, because I would have done absolutely anything for her. If she asked me to do something, I'd do it. I'd die for her, I'd kill for her, if she needed me I would be there. I have a hard time putting it into words mate, but I just _knew._"

That was how Sirius _knew _as well. All of those things James had said applied to Sirius's feelings about Luna. He couldn't put his emotions into words either. Whenever he saw her, his heart constricted and his breath caught in his chest, and he thought that if he didn't get to hold her in his arms soon he would positively die. "Aw fuck," he swore. Why did this have to happen? His life had been so damn carefree before this bint. The worst part was that he didn't even care. He didn't care that she had turned his whole life upside down. Because she and her happiness were the only things that mattered to him now.

It was without any conscious thoughts of going there that he found himself climbing the spiraling staircase to the Astronomy Tower. He just wanted some fresh air. When he emerged into the room, he groaned. The silhouette of a petite dark haired girl was outlined with a quarter moon behind her and he knew instantly who it was. At the sound of his approach, she turned her head and gave him a reluctant smile. Her radiant grin hit him like a freight train. He hated feeling so weak and submissive, but he loved it at the same time.

"Hi," was his super-cool greeting.

Her smirk broadened, "Fancy running into you here, Black. Just out for a stroll or were you purposefully looking for me?"

"Just out for a stroll. I actually just came from the kitchens. Caught James and Lily looking awfully cozy in a pantry. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Babe?" his confidence was back. He wondered if his charm worked on her the way it seemed to work on other girls. Without any real emotion he reached forward and tugged on a lock of her hair.

She batted his hand away impatiently, "Don't call me 'Babe.'"

"Do you prefer something else? I could call you Sweetie, Honey, Cutie, or if you're into it, I know a few more that I wouldn't use around professors. Like Hot Lips, Sexy Arse, or-"

"_No_ pet names," she put a finger over his lips to shush him. Luna would never tell him what it did to her when he talked like that. Like she belonged to him. As if he had the right to make up pet names for her. Not to mention, she had a feeling he knew much dirtier things to call her than the innocent ones he had mentioned.

"I'll just stick with Lu-Lu then," he had reached up to take hold of her wrist to pull her hand away from his mouth, and as he did so he kept his hand around hers. How long would it take before she threw it off? Why was she always spurning his advances anyway? He sometimes got the impression that she was interested him. That she might even fancy him. But then she would run even further away from him. Was she playing hard to get?

"My name is _Luna_," she said, "Not Lu-Lu! I don't know why you and James insist on calling me something so ridiculous!"

He couldn't help the grin that crept onto his face. She was just so _adorable _when she was angry. Before he could reply, they heard scuffling. Someone was heading their way. Their eyes widened in alarm as they gazed at each other. Was it past curfew? Merlin, neither one of them wanted another detention. "Come on," he hissed and pulled her into a nearby storage cupboard that was filled with telescopes and astronomy charts.

To their shock, a giggling James and Lily appeared. They were _holding hands_. "Ah-ha!" whispered Luna excitedly, "my plan worked!" The door of the storage cupboard was cracked open just enough for them to see out of it.

"As happy as I am for you, Love, you're stepping on my foot," said Sirius.

"Oops!"

"Shh, don't let them hear us! I don't want to interrupt anything. It looks like they're having a good time."

"Oh no! You don't think they'd just start shagging right there, do you?" She sounded faint.

Sirius laughed quietly, "I certainly hope not, but I guess we'll find out."

As carefully as she could, Luna took hold of the handle and pulled the door all the way closed. "We'll just wait in here until they go back to the dorms," she advised.

"Merlin that could be all night," he groaned.

"Shut up, Black!" Luna had her ear pressed against the door. They could just hear the conversation their friends were having.

"What do you want to do, Evans? After we graduate I mean." They were sitting across from each other talking quietly.

"I wanted to open an Apothecary. I'm good with potions and I enjoy it very much."

"Want_ed_? Why the past tense?"

"Well, I can't exactly go around opening up a business now, can I? Not in the Wizard World. Not if I want to stay alive. You know as well as I do that Death Eaters target muggle borns who are in the public eye. So," she continued quickly, "I've been considering asking Professor Dumbledore for a job at Hogwarts. I would like to teach Charms, but Flitwick will probably stick around for a while. I heard Slughorn might be retiring soon…" she trailed off.

"Ah," said James with a laugh, "That explains everything."

"What?"

"I always wondered why a smart bird like you would put up with going to those daft Slug Club meetings," he said with an airy wave of his hand.

She gave a light chuckle, "You caught me."

Sirius cracked the door open just a hair so that he and Luna could watch their friends. James gave Lily a smug grin, "I think I would kind of like to be a Healer," his tone was thoughtful, and it caught Lily by surprise. She had never heard James Potter talk like this. Whenever she heard him speak, it was always with arrogance, smugness, or a sappy sweet tone that he used when asking her out in front of people. This was different.

"Why?" she asked.

"I feel like that's where my amazing amount of magical talent would do the most good," he said in a teasing way that had Lily rolling her eyes. But then his voice was thoughtful again, "Also, with the war going on, St. Mungo's is going to need all of the help they can get. If I can help save people who are hurt by Death Eaters, that's important to me."

"I would have thought that you would have wanted to be an Auror. Facing Death Eaters head on."

He snorted, "Maybe. Yeah, I wouldn't mind handing those bastards their arses in a fight, but I want a lot more than that. I want a family. Catching Dark Wizards isn't something I'd want to do forever. Just until the war was over. Until I knew you were safe from Voldemort and his followers. Then I wouldn't want to fight anymore. How could I leave you and our future children if something were to happen to me? No, a Healer is a job much better suited to me."

Lily was so startled it took her a moment before she could speak, "Normally I would be angry with you for being so presumptuous, but you didn't sound cocky that time, Potter, you just sounded sincere. You really know what you want."

"Yeah," he smirked, "I do," then he kissed her. Luna pushed herself very inappropriately against Sirius to get a better look. Sirius looked away from the scene before him, however, and was distractedly looking down at his own body instead, as Luna was so intimately pressed against it.

The kiss only lasted a few moments before Lily pulled away from James and slapped him right across the face. "Now _that_, you arrogant toe rag, was _presumptuous_!" she said just before storming off.

"Aw damn," James groaned, covering his face with his hands and then falling back to lie down on the Astronomy Tower floor. He had been _so close_. Maybe if he had just waited a bit longer before kissing her, it would have gone over well. Luna had been right though, he registered the thought dimly, when he talked to Evans one-on-one and really opened up to her on a personal level, she was much more open to him.

It was the first time he had ever kissed Lily Evans and he hadn't been disappointed. She tasted so much sweeter than he had imagined. He had loved the way she gasped a bit when he kissed her. The best part was that for a moment, she had kissed him back. Not yet wanting to return to Gryffindor Tower, he opened his eyes and gazed up at the beams above him, just thinking.

Luna reached for the door, but Sirius grabbed her hand and pulled her back, "_Muffliato_," he whispered, then said louder, "We can't go out there, Luna. If James spots us sneaking away, he'll be upset and the last thing I would ever do is embarrass or upset my best mate. He just really put himself out there with Evans and basically got shut down. He won't be happy if he knows we saw it all."

"Merlin, how long is he going to stay up here?"

Sirius grimaced, "Probably all night. Whenever he's upset he stays up here all night."

"Better make ourselves comfortable then," Luna plopped down to the floor. There wasn't much room in the cupboard, but there was enough. Luna and Sirius sat side by side, their shoulders touching. Whenever Sirius tried making conversation, she would give a curt answer but that was it. Slightly discouraged, but not to be dismayed, he fell asleep not a long while later.

Luna couldn't help but watch him. He was so _innocent _looking when he slept. She snorted at the thought of anyone calling Sirius Black 'innocent.' Without really knowing why, she reached her hand out and brushed his hair back so she could see his face better. "I wish," she whispered, "that you were meant for me and me for you. Sirius Black, I wish that I could take you home with me when I leave and we could live happily ever after. You are so wonderful. I had no idea just how wonderful. Your devotion to James and doing the right thing. The way you always try to be there for me even when I push you away. Merlin, boy, you've gotten under my skin in a way I never thought would be possible for anyone to do. Please, whoever's listening out there," she looked up at the ceiling, not sure who she was addressing her prayer to, "please don't let me fall in love with him. I wouldn't be able to leave." A few tears leaked out of her eyes just before she fell asleep, too.

….

When Sirius woke up the next morning, Luna was wrapped around him. They had somehow half fallen over, against the door of the storage cupboard, Sirius had an arm around her back and she had a leg thrown over both of his. Her face was on his shoulder and he woke up to her sweet breath caressing his neck every time she exhaled.

Smiling, Sirius got up, lifting her with him. He somehow managed to not wake her all the way back to Gryffindor Tower. It was very early in the morning, the sun hadn't even risen yet. He laid her out gently on the couch, conjured a blanket from his bed to cover her, then clambered up the stairs to his own bed and went back to sleep.


	6. Change of Heart

**WARNING: Mild violence, language, and scenes of a mild sexual nature in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Every recognizable character, idea, event, place, etc. belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing.**

**Author's Note at the end.**

…

When Luna woke up, her first thought was that she was exceptionally comfortable. She was warm, the fireplace was crackling, and the blanket that was wrapped around her smelled so good she was burying her nose into it. It took her a few minutes to remember that the previous night she had fallen asleep in a storage closet. She should not have a blanket around her, cushions below her, or a fireplace beside her.

She sat up immediately and glanced around. With a sigh came the realization that Sirius must have brought her up here. How positively sweet of him. Her smile turned into a scowl. Angrily, she got up, crumpled the blanket in her arms and marched straight up the staircase to the seventh year boy's dormitory.

Reaching out a hand, she shoved the door open. All of the curtains around all of the beds were drawn shut. From behind one set of curtains, she heard an obnoxious snoring and assumed it was Peter. Next, on the bedside table of the second bed lay a wand and a pair of round glasses which belonged to James. The third bed had a trunk at the foot of it that had the initials RJL on it. Finally, the fourth bed caught her eye.

Sirius's trunk lay open and the contents were spilling out; quills, robes, parchment, and a faint smell of dungbombs. with a roll of her eyes, she pulled the heavy curtains back and promptly jumped back at the sight before her. Sirius lay on his back clad in nothing except a pair of blue boxer shorts. His mouth was agape and he was breathing lightly. One hand was on his chest and the other was tucked partially into the waistband of his boxers. His dark hair was still perfectly in place.

Her eyes raked his body hungrily, trying to memorize every plane of his stomach and chest, every muscle she could see rippling when he breathed. Merlin, he was fit. For one wild moment she imagined how he would react if he woke up with her on top of him because she was aching to run her hands over his body.

With a sly grin, she dropped the blanket, pulled the curtains closed, and clambered up onto the bed. Trying to justify her actions to herself, she reasoned that she would do this to any of her male friends (except, of course, the ones she was related to). Her conscience was telling her to stop and for a moment she hesitated. Then she shook her head with a silent giggle and dismissed her conscience, just as she normally did.

She slung a slender leg over his body, registering belatedly that she was still in her school uniform. Now straddling his hips, she leaned forward and whispered in his ear seductively, "Wake up, sexy."

Sirius moaned in his sleep and stretched. Blearily, he blinked his eyes and gazed up at her with a frown, "Am I still dreaming?"

"Still?" she asked with a smirk, "you were dreaming about this? What exactly happened in that dream of yours, Black?"

"Well, it was very much like this," his voice was thick with sleep and it was obvious that he wasn't sure if this was reality or if he was still asleep, "except you weren't wearing any clothes. Neither was I, of course, and you weren't grinning at me like that. Your head was thrown back in ecstasy as you-"

"Alright! I get the picture!"

"Fuck, it was wonderful," his hands found her hips, his fingertips digging in, and Luna gave a light squeal as she attempted to squirm away, but before she could, Sirius moaned and bucked his hips up. A very intimate, and hard, part of him pressed against a very intimate part of her.

"Sirius!" she reprimanded in a scream and pulled away from him fast. She had not expected her 'harmless' prank to result in that. Boy had that backfired on her. It had been meant to tease him, just for a bit of fun, but it actually teased her much more. Her heart was pounding, her ears were ringing, and she felt an ache in the place where he had just pressed himself against her. Blushing furiously, she practically yelled, "You're awake, you prat! This is real! Never do that again! I can't believe I did that! I told myself I shouldn't, but oh no, I'm just that stupid, I suppose!"

"Be quiet, Lu-Lu," said Sirius as he stretched out an arm to wrap around her waist and pull her against him, "you'll wake everyone in Gryffindor Tower if you carry on like that, and I'd rather like to not be disturbed. You must have come up here for a reason, if not to climb into bed with me, then why?"

"To give you your blanket back, you imbecile!" Despite her screeching, she was still so stunned and her head was still spinning so violently that she was letting him pull her against him. Sirius rolled so that he was lying on his side, and he snuggled her body into his so that her back was pressed against his chest.

"Funny, I don't see a blanket."

"It's on the floor. I dropped it."

"What did you do that for if you were so keen on returning it to me?"

"When I saw the way you were sleeping I thought it would be funny if you woke up with me on top of you."

"Funny? How is that even remotely comical? Sexy as hell, yes. Wonderful, yes. Something right out of my dreams, yes. But not funny."

"I thought it would be a laugh," she said this defensively as she slowly began calming down.

He gave a grunt, "Yeah, I just about died of laughter," she frowned at his sarcasm. "Next time why don't you take your clothes off first? It would have been a much better prank if you had done that."

"I've learned my lesson," she sniffed, "never wake you up again."

"Oi! Will you two lovebirds shut up? I'm trying to sleep and it sounds like you're having some sort of lover's spat. Keep it down," the voice very obviously belonged to James.

"I don't mind if you're talking, as long as Luna doesn't start shouting again," commented Remus.

"I agree with Remus. Also, if you didn't start shagging, I'd appreciate it," said Peter.

Luna's face was slowly turning very red indeed. Damn those Weasley genes! Always betraying her embarrassment! "We're not going to shag!" she squeaked.

"Oh?" Inquired James conversationally, "already wore yourselves out? I'm ashamed of you, Sirius, if you only lasted one night. You should at least show the witch a good enough time to carry on for the rest of the day."

"Ashamed of me?" said Sirius casually, "or proud of me that I found a bird so spectacular she was able to wear me out in one night? Now that's a feat!"

"SHUT UP, BLACK!" Luna screamed, "We didn't have sex at all! I just came in a moment ago, for Godric's sake!"

"A moment is plenty of time for Sirius," Remus teased. James gave a loud laugh and a small chuckle from Peter was heard as well.

With an angry huff, Luna disentangled herself from Sirius's body and his bedding and stormed out of the dormitory. All of the boys pulled their curtains aside to watch her go. "Sorry, mate," said James with a grin, "but I have a bet to win. After all, you only have a few more days to get her to agree to a date with you or else ten galleons to me!"

With a quick wink at his best mate, James disappeared behind the curtains of his bed again and went back to sleep. Over the next few minutes, all of the other boys did the same. Sirius lay awake for a while, wondering how on earth he could possibly impress a girl who in and of herself was already so impressive. He was determined to find a way.

…..

"People tend to think that we girls are really close with the boys," Mary was telling Luna late one evening as the four seventh year Gryffindor girls painted each other's toenails. "But we aren't. They call themselves the Marauders. They really think they're something. Especially Potter and Black. Girls throw themselves at them."

"It's disgusting," Lily Evans threw in.

"Mmm," Luna agreed, not really understanding the point of this conversation. She had never been one to be interested in the social workings of Hogwarts. Mostly because the dynamic of this Hogwarts and her own Hogwarts were so vastly different.

"To be honest," Alice said quietly, "I'm a bit afraid of Black at times. His whole family is dark and he's so…mysterious. He doesn't enjoy attention the way James does, but he still likes people to know he's badass."

"They say," Mary continued, "that he's shagged like half the girls in the school. I believe it, too. Merlin knows we've all caught him in broom closets before."

"What about James?" Luna asked.

"He's…experienced," Mary hedged, "but not with any of us, obviously. He was a great big prat the first five years of school. Then, about halfway through sixth year he started getting kind of nice. But then there was a huge outbreak of scandalous behavior from the Slytherins. Sometimes really dark stuff, too. I heard that over half of the boys from fifth year up are already following…You-Know-Who. So James went back to being his cocky arrogant arse on the outside, but on the inside we all suspect he's a sweetie."

"What does the Slytherin's behavior have to do with James's behavior?" Luna asked with a frown.

Alice clucked her tongue, "Isn't it obvious? He's in love with Lily. Has been for a long time. In case you didn't know, Lily's a muggle born. If the Slytherin's do something nasty, it's almost always to a muggle born. Everyone knows how James feels about Lily so he keeps this bad-boy reputation up to try to stop any Slytherins from messing with her. It works pretty well, too."

"If he's so in love with me, then why is he so _experienced_?" Evans grumbled, recalling what Mary had said.

"Lily, you've been rejecting the bloke for years. Men have needs; urges. It's not like he's had a relationship with any of them."

"How do you know all of this anyway?" snapped Evans in an annoyed way.

"I'm the only female on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, Lils. I hear all the gross locker room chat that I would really rather not hear," she gave a shudder.

Luna grinned to herself. She remembered her own Quidditch team very well. She was the only female on her team, too, and she was the captain. It always did feel nice ordering around six gorgeous blokes who towered over her in their stature. Luna had always been a petite little thing.

"Oh, did you find a few good new team mates? We're short a Chaser and a Keeper now that Scott and Trent graduated." Alice wondered.

"Yes," Mary groaned, "finally, after some grueling tryouts, we found two more blokes. Isn't that just lovely? Martin Hewitt, you know, in fifth year, he's our new Keeper. Kyle Lewis is our third Chaser."

"Oi! MacDonald!" a male voice called up.

"Speak of the devil," she muttered. Then yelled, "WHAT DO YOU WANT, LEWIS?"

"Potter said that you had better get your, and I quote, 'smarmy arse down here in five minutes or you'll be late.' He also wanted me to warn you that if you're late, your punishment is the same as the boys' punishments when they're late. No exceptions just because you're a girl."

"Stupid. Bloody. Potter," Mary growled as she got up and began pulling on warmer clothes.

"What's the punishment if you're late?" asked Alice.

"We have to run five laps around the Quidditch pitch."

"Oh, that's not bad."

"In my underwear."

"WHAT?"

"Yep, that's the rule. Apparently that's been the rule for years, but I'm the first girl on the house team in half a century so they weren't sure what to do with me. They decided to treat me exactly like one of the blokes."

"You know," Lily said with a smirk, "you could always use that to your advantage. Show up to Quidditch late, and I'll make sure Remus just happens to wander down the Quidditch pitch while you're running laps."

"LILY EVANS!" Mary squealed while laughing, "I can't believe you would suggest something so devious!" she paused, "Let's do it!"

"No," grumbled Alice, "it's freezing outside, Mary!"

"That would be the point, wouldn't it?" Mary argued, gesturing toward her well endowed chest.

Alice threw a pillow over face and grumbled into it. Luna laughed, "Better make sure you're wearing just the right underwear then."

"Excellent point!" Mary began stripping. She pulled off all of the clothes she was wearing and shimmied into a pair of plain pink panties and a satin pink bra. "I don't want to show off too much," she said thoughtfully as she held up a black see-through bra and considered it, "after all, all of the other blokes on the pitch will see me as well."

They waited fifteen minutes then Mary left with a quick, "Wish me luck!"

The girls waited five more minutes after that before running to find Remus Lupin. He was in the common room, of course, with Peter and Sirius. Peter and Remus were doing homework. Sirius was watching in an amused way and every so often he would flick his wand at Peter's essay and it would go mysteriously blank. "It's done it again!" he cried to Remus, "I don't understand where the hell all my words went, but they were just right here on the parchment!"

"I'm sure they'll turn up," Sirius's voice gave away nothing. He was the perfect actor.

"Remus!" Lily Evans called, "I just came from the Quidditch pitch. Potter wants you to come down there right away. He says it's important."

"I wonder what that's about," frowning, Remus rolled up his parchment and headed for the portrait hole. The girls followed, giggling. Before Luna reached the portrait hole however, Sirius grabbed her by the arm and spun her around.

"Alright, what are you three playing at? I watched you walk down from your dormitory. Evans wasn't at the Quidditch pitch."

"Come on, Black, let's go find out!" Luna was so giddy about their plan that she unthinkingly held Sirius's hand and dragged him all the way across the grounds.

When they reached the place where the Gryffindor Quidditch team was practicing, Sirius's jaw dropped. Mary MacDonald was running around _in her knickers!_ "What the bloody hell?"

"Brilliant idea, wasn't it? We knew Mary was late for Quidditch, and punishment for being late to practice is this," she motioned toward Mary, "so we lured Remus down here to see it."

Sirius gave a laugh. "Whose idea was that, anyway? Yours?"

"Oh, no, it was Lily's idea."

"No!"

"Yep."

Together they watched Mary run her laps. Remus Lupin stood not too far from them, also watching, with a conflicted expression on his face. "He likes her, you know," Sirius muttered, "it's probably driving him bonkers that all of these blokes are watching her."

For the first time Luna realized that every male on the team, except for Potter, was watching her avidly. Potter, however, had noticed that Lily Evans was on the pitch and had flown down to chat with her. No one expected what happened next.

As Mary ran close by Remus, he leapt out and grabbed hold of her, spinning her around. Her momentum propelled her body into his hard and they stumbled back. He tore off his cloak and wrapped it around her nearly naked body. Then he kissed her.

There was a collective "Ooo," sound from everyone watching. Sirius gave a small smile, "I hope he knows what he's doing," he said.

"Oh, loosen up, Black, it's just a kiss."

"If a kiss isn't a big deal to you, then why aren't we snogging all the time?"

"The reason it isn't a big deal is because Remus and Mary fancy each other."

"Do you think that I don't fancy you?" he asked in surprise. Was that why she was avoiding him so much? Was she worried that her feelings weren't returned?

"Hardly. I don't fancy you," she lied.

"Ouch," he pretended to be hurt by her words, "I'll have to see what I can do to change that."

Luna snorted but didn't reply. James Potter came running over. "Are you seeing this, Padfoot? Look at our ickle little Moony. He's growing up," he said wistfully, "next thing you know they'll be shagging and we'll hardly see him at all anymore."

"Somehow, I can't see Moony giving it up that easily. Mary has her work cut out for her if she wants to get in his trousers."

"I reckon," James mused.

On the pitch, Remus and Mary were still locked in a fierce embrace. Remus lifted her off of her feet and kept on snogging her. "Merlin," said Sirius with a laugh, "you might need to find yourself a new Chaser, mate, it looks like this could last a while."

"Oi!" James called through all of the wolf whistles, "as happy as I am that you two are snogging like mad, this is still team practice! Lupin, Black, Fortescue, and Granger! Off the pitch _now_! Evans, you can stay, but since you're late, you'll have to run five laps in your knickers," he winked.

Lily Evans scowled and stalked off the pitch, her long red hair swaying behind her. Alice followed right on her heels. "Did you honestly expect her to listen to any orders from you?" Sirius asked.

"No, I just love the way she blushes when I embarrass her. She's fucking gorgeous."

"Uh oh, here comes trouble," Sirius motioned to where a small group of a few Ravenclaws and a few Slytherins were approaching the field.

"Why is it trouble?" Luna asked with interest.

"See that big bloke there? Yeah, that's Eric Crawley. Mary's boyfriend."

"Uh oh," Luna agreed.

"And," growled James, "let's just say that it's not only Slytherins who turn dark side. Crawley is always hanging around Avery and Nott. Come on, Pads, let's go help Remus."

The three of them jogged over to where Eric was approaching Remus, who still had his arms wrapped around Mary. "What the fucking hell do you think you're doing, Lupin? That's my girlfriend."

"Eric," Mary said quickly, intervening, "I'm really sorry. I never meant for it to happen like this, but I think we should break up."

"Of course we're fucking breaking up. Do you think I'd still tolerate your blood traitor tendencies after finding out you're such a little whore?"

"Watch your fucking mouth, Crawley," Sirius growled. Luna looked up at him with a light shiver. She remembered Alice saying that she was sometimes frightened of Black and Luna could now see why. When he wanted, he could look positively frightening.

"Sirius," Mary said quietly, timidly, "you don't need to stand up for me."

"Actually," said James as he glared daggers at Eric, "we do. If you're with Moony, you're with us."

"Blood traitor Potter," sneered Avery, "always sticking up for mudbloods and blood traitors. Better watch it, or your little redhead will be next."

James took a step toward him meaning to attack, but Sirius put a hand on his chest, holding him back. "If you want to continue breathing, you might want to get out of here," he warned.

"Not without teaching this bitch a lesson," Eric's hand snapped out and caught hold of Mary's forearm, yanking her toward him. She yelped. In a flash, Remus Lupin had somehow managed to maneuver himself between them, shielding Mary as she rubbed her sore arm.

"Leave," he warned, "now."

"You think we couldn't take you? Look at it, Lupin, you're outnumbered. Even if Potter and Black fought us with you, it would still be eight against three," Luna glanced around at the group of intimidating boys who looked like they were itching for a fight. Regulus Black and Severus Snape were among them. Along with Avery, Nott, Crawley, and three Ravenclaws she didn't recognize.

The eight of them drew their wands. Luna took a hesitant step back. Sirius's entire body tensed and he saw red. These bastards had scared her. With a fierce desire to protect her, he stepped in front of her small frame, crossing his arms over his chest. James still had a snarl on his face and looked like he would kill the first bloke to fire a jinx at him.

"She said she didn't want to be your girlfriend anymore, Eric," Remus, always the peacemaker, was saying calmly, "that's the end of it."

"No," Crawley was shaking his head, "it's not."

"Do you really want to fight us?" growled James. Luna was glancing back and forth between all of the boys. When she stole a glance at Mary, she saw that she was just as frightened as Luna was. Both held their ground, standing just behind the boys.

"You're all talk, Potter." Nott said. The boys behind him laughed appreciatively.

"Want to find out?" it was an invitation and a warning in one.

Slowly, a few of the boys backed off a bit. Eric, noticing his entourage slowly dispersing, pointed a threatening finger at Remus and Mary, "You'd better be watching your back. The moment your Marauder pals aren't around to help you, you'll get it, you bint. Same for you, Lupin." He, too, stalked off after his friends.

"That was close," said Mary in a shaky voice.

"For Godric's sake, Moony," said Sirius with a small grin, "did you have to kiss the bird before she broke up with that arse?"

Remus blushed and mumbled something that sounded like, "Couldn't help myself."

Mary smiled at him and stretched up to kiss his cheek, "Thank you," she said to him, "for helping me."

"What about us?" James demanded, "we were here, too!"

"Mate, let Remus take the credit for this one," Sirius recommended.

James sighed, "Alright, but don't let our contribution be forgotten!" James reached for his broom, mounted it, but just before he took off on it he said, "Aw fuck!"

"What?" asked Sirius distractedly.

"Those dicks took off in the same direction as Lily and Alice!"

"Fuck!"

They all ran. James yelled to his team mates who had all landed to watch the confrontation, "PRACTICE TONIGHT IS CANCELLED! GO BACK TO THE COMMON ROOM!"

On the grounds, not too far from the castle, there was a circle of eight boys. Nott shifted his weight slightly and in the center of the circle Luna could just see Lily Evans, standing defensively in front of Alice. "LILY!" James screamed and took off running. Sirius and Remus followed.

"Oh no," groaned Mary, "this is all my fault!"

"No, it's not," Luna assured her, "it's not your fault that Eric is a psychopath."

Without waiting to see if the group of boys who Luna assumed were all Death Eaters would back off or not, James flicked his wand and hit Nott in the back of the head with a curse. Lily Evans was supporting Alice, who looked like she was injured. "Get Allie to the hospital wing!" James called to her. Lily Evans nodded and started making her way slowly to the castle, basically carrying Alice. She was struggling.

"Go help her," Luna said, "Get Alice to the castle fast!" Mary nodded and ran to help.

Luna jumped into the fight. She had never been in a fight like this before. She had heard stories and even seen a few of her father's memories by accident in his pensieve, but this was something else all together. Jets of light flew all around her. A well placed hex of hers managed to hit Crawley and she was glad for that. Remus looked like he had been hit with something, but despite his obvious disorientation, was still shooting jinxes at his enemies.

James and Sirius were something to behold. The lights from their wands illuminated them in the darkness and they both had looks of rage etched onto their gorgeous faces. Luna was momentarily breathless. In that moment, more than anything, she wanted to kiss Sirius Black. She wanted to taste those lips that were currently curled into a snarl and use her body to express to him how brave and wonderful she thought he was.

They were taking out most of the boys who surrounded them with minimal difficulty. Severus Snape and Regulus Black were quite obviously the two most skilled of their lot, and Luna wanted to keep her eyes on them. It happened while she was distracted. One of the Ravenclaw boys she hadn't recognized shot a curse at her. The _Cruciatus Curse_ hit her in her abdomen and she fell to her knees screaming, dropping her wand.

"NO!" it was the only noise she could hear through her pain. The enraged and terrified bellow of Sirius Black. Then, suddenly, there was no more pain. Gasping, Luna opened her eyes; when had she closed them? Sirius Black, still in the middle of a fight, had his wand brandished above his head, but his hand was stretched out toward her. That was when she understood. He had used wandless magic to push her body out of the way. Sirius looked wide-eyed at his hand, as if shocked by what he had done and then rushed toward her, taking out his own brother along the way; Regulus Black fell with ropes binding him from head to foot.

"Are you alright?" he sounded like she had never heard him before. He sounded well and truly frightened. His hands were trembling as he wrapped an arm around her to help her up.

"Yeah, I'm-I'm okay," her body was shaking. Weak, she was so weak, and so tired. "You're…blurry," she muttered. Then everything went black.

…..

"Dueling!" she heard someone screech. Ah, the dulcet tones of Madam Pomfrey. So she was in the hospital wing then. That was some comfort, at least. James and Sirius must have won the duel because she was sure if the other side had, they would have left her unconscious body out on the grounds. "And you! I said _lay down_!"

"Oh, stuff it, you old bat," Sirius! Luna's eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice and found him standing beside her, looking absolutely perfect. Not a scratch on him. Madam Pomfrey left the room with an annoyed, "hmph!"

"Are you hurt?" she asked him.

He laughed, "Not a bit. Promfrey tends to overreact."

"How are the others?"

"Moony is sleeping. Up in Gryffindor Tower; we don't know what they hit him with, but he's really disoriented. Not a normal _Confundus _Charm, that's for sure. Before we got to the girls, they'd already broken Alice's leg, but Madam Pomfrey fixed it in a moment and sent her back to the common room. Same for those stupid gits who fought us. We didn't use any dark magic on them or anything, so they're all back in their dormitories licking their wounds."

"And James?"

"Oh, he's fine. Right beside me, actually," Sirius shot his elbow out into thin air and Luna heard an audible, "Oof!" "James has a Cloak of Invisibility," said Sirius unnecessarily.

"Shut it, Pads. Don't let Pomfrey hear you! The only reason she's not trying to force me to lie down is because she can't find me!"

"Well, now that we know you're alright, we should get back to Gryffindor Tower. If Pomfrey comes back and asks where I went, tell her I went to the library or something." Sirius turned to go out the door, but Luna stopped him.

"Wait!" she remembered very vividly what he had done for her. How anguished he had been when she had been hurt. Merlin, she was probably going to regret this later, but… "Stay with me. Please."

He smiled, "Yeah, alright." He turned to look beside him. "Prongs? Please?" he held out his hand. James grumbled and sighed but pulled the Cloak off of himself and handed it over to his best friend.

"Just for tonight," he said, then snuck quickly out of the Hospital Wing. Sirius threw the cloak over himself and climbed into the bed Luna was in. She could feel his body pressed against hers and barely suppressed a shiver. His chest was so hard and warm and wonderful. She wanted to sink into his embrace and…and…Godric! He smelled divine!

"Well where did that rascal go?" Madam Pomfrey was back in the room holding a vial of a Sleeping Draught.

"Said he had an essay to finish so he took off for the library," Luna lied and felt Sirius's body vibrate with a silent laugh.

"Seventeen year old boys! They think they're invincible, well they're _not_! He should be resting and taking it easy! Here, dear, take this. It will help. They said you were hit with the curse in your abdomen, so you will probably be a bit sore there for a while."

"Yes, Ma'm."

"I'm turning off the lights now. No more visitors tonight. Goodnight, dear."

"Goodnight, Madam Pomfrey." She flicked her wand and all of the torches went out. She gave a yawn before retreating into her quarters.

"How could you let yourself get hit with an Unforgivable Curse?" Sirius scolded.

"Oh, I thought it would be a laugh," she said sarcastically. "I didn't _let _it happen, you dolt!"

"I've seen you duel James before. You have skill. What happened?"

Luna tried to remember. She remembered looking to see how her friends were doing. She remembered seeing Sirius's face; more devil than angel as it often was, illuminated by the light of his wand. Her mind had wandered to kissing him. That was what happened. Sirius Black. A light blush rose up into her cheeks. She couldn't tell him the truth. "I…got distracted."

"Distracted?" he asked incredulously, "by what?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe one or more of the eight wizards shooting curses at me?" Then, in a smaller voice, she said, "Or maybe my friends who were also in the fight with me."

"What? James, Remus, and I? You were distracted by us?"

"Perhaps a bit," she hedged.

"Lu-Lu," he said it with just a slight growl. A warning that he was going to get an honest answer out of her.

"Fine! I was distracted by you! Godric! Are you happy now?"

There was a pause. "No," he said, "I'm not happy that you were hurt because I distracted you. What did I do that was so distracting?" Luna jumped slightly as she felt an invisible hand stroke her face.

"You were, um, dueling."

"And?"

"And I was watching you instead of what I was doing."

"Why?"

Instead of answering him this time, she reached her hand up and pulled the hood of the cloak back so she could see his face. He wore an expression that was a mix between amused and curious. Finally, she sighed and closed her eyes. How could she resist him? She'd been ignoring him for weeks. Yet every moment of every day she was hyper-aware of him.

Perhaps this was her fate. What if it had always been her destiny to come back to this time and stay here forever? What if she was one of the many nameless witches and wizards who were killed by Death Eaters? Without thinking, or perhaps after too much thinking, her eyes snapped open and she tilted her face toward his, connecting their lips for the very first time.

Sirius responded enthusiastically. With a surprised gasp, he wrapped a strong arm around her and pulled her up against him, melding their bodies together with his fierce grip. He kissed her expertly, his lips moving with hers, both of their mouths fighting for dominance. When he traced her bottom lip with his tongue and then nipped it, she surrendered, parting her lips for him. Thrilled by his victory, his tongue skillfully invaded her mouth as he rolled their bodies slightly so he was pressing her gently into the mattress.

Pain emanated from her midsection and she let out a soft cry of pain. Sirius pulled back immediately. For a moment his grey eyes were unfocused and cloudy. Then, he snapped back to reality and said in a husky voice, "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking about how hurt you are." And rolled off of her.

"Pain be damned," she muttered, her fingers gripping the silky material of the cloak and pulling his face back to hers.

They kissed for a moment more before Sirius pulled away again, "I don't want to hurt you again, and if you keep snogging me like that, I'm not likely to exhibit much self control. Not to mention, we're in the Hospital Wing. Students and professors wander in and out constantly."

Luna grumbled but admitted, "I reckon you're right. I suppose we can always continue this later yeah?"

He chuckled lightly, "Of course, love, whenever and where ever you'd like. As soon as you're better." His hand was stroking her arm aimlessly and Luna was shocked at how comforting it was. In her seventeen short years of life, she'd never felt like this before. Suddenly, she wasn't so sure she wanted to return home, because in that moment, Sirius Black felt more like home to her than anywhere else ever had.

"Is that what distracted you during the fight?" he asked, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck.

"Yes," she told him with a slight catch in her voice, "I glanced over to see how you were managing, and when I saw you I couldn't stop thinking about how much I wanted to snog you senseless."

"If that's all it takes, then I'll have to kick their asses more often."

Luna smiled at him, "Thank you," she whispered, "for saving me and for staying with me tonight."

She could feel the tip of his nose and his warm lips as they trailed up from her neck all the way to her forehead. He pressed his lips there and the light stubble on his jaw tickled her a bit, "Anything you ask of me," he was whispering, too, "I'll do it."

…..

**A/N: Let me start off by saying I know a lot of you are probably surprised or disbelieving of the fact that Severus Snape took part in anything nasty toward Lily Evans (when, in my chapter, Lily and Alice were surrounded by several students and attacked on their way back to the castle Severus Snape was among the students doing the attacking). Even though I did not specifically say it in my story, Snape did not directly participate in this. He stood back, not defending Evans but not attacking her either. I'm sure that if one of them had tried to seriously harm her, he would have defended her, but they didn't attack Lily Evans, they broke Alice's leg and then James, Sirius, and Luna showed up before it went any further than that. **

**Also, I know some of you might be thinking, "Well that happened fast," BUT 1. Are you sure this is going to last? What if nothing comes of the kiss Luna and Sirius shared? 2. The story is not focused on them falling in love. It's about their lives. This is a three-part story and this is still just the first part. **

**Please leave reviews for any comments or criticisms! I appreciate both! **

**SPOILER ALERT: In the next chapter we will encounter more of Severus Snape and more of Minerva McGonagall! **


	7. Declaration

**A/N: Just so everyone is aware, the small pieces of McGonagall's back story are true. They were revealed on Pottermore. Also, I wanted to add a bit more of Luna's thoughts and feelings throughout this chapter but it was getting kind of long. More of how she is feeling and thinking will be revealed in the next chapter. Please review to let me know what you think. **

**I start off this chapter with addressing the Cruciatus Curse issue. I realized when I wrote the previous chapter that it was a very serious infringement of Wizarding Law to use an Unforgivable Curse and I was planning on just casually mentioning how it was dealt with, but because some readers noticed it as well, I thought of a slightly better plot and wrote a short flash-back memory for Sirius. I'm glad it was brought to my attention, otherwise the small amusing snippet probably would not have made its way into the chapter so please tell me if my explanation is satisfactory. **

**Another (shorter) author's note will be at the end of the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling.**

…**..**

Sirius Black couldn't fall asleep. The girl in his arms had long ago succumbed to peaceful oblivion, though that probably had something to do with the sleeping draught she had been given by the school nurse.

With nothing better to do to pass the time, his mind began to wander to revenge. He very clearly remembered the conversation he had had with James just a few hours previously. After Luna had fainted, the duel had ended quickly. Snape was the only one who got away; retreating after all of the boys with him had gone down.

_"Prongs, get Moony up to the Hospital Wing! I'll take Luna!" Sirius very gently lifted her limp body, his hands trembling. Behind him, he heard James attempting to direct Remus in the right direction. Anger swelled in him as he thought of what had just taken place. "I can't wait to see that bastard expelled for this! I can't believe he would use an Unforgivable Curse!"_

_ "Padfoot," James's voice was gently, "we can't get him expelled."_

_ "What do you mean?" Sirius thundered, "you saw it as well as I did! He can't lie his way out of this! They could use the Truth Potion or Prior Incantatem. They'll get to the bottom of this."_

_ "We can't get him expelled," explained James, "because we can't tell any of the professors what Curse Raleigh hit her with. Raleigh is seventeen. He's of age. What do you think will happen if they find out he's used the Cruciatus Curse?"_

_ "I forgot he was of age," said Sirius with a grin, "not only will he be expelled, but he'll also be carted off to Azkaban!" this was said with obvious relish. _

_ "Exactly," James was beginning to think Sirius would never understand where he was going with this, "and with one of their best mates in prison because we ratted him out, what do you think all of the other Death Eaters in this school will do? They'll target us, Padfoot."_

_ "They already target us," Sirius growled, gesturing to the girl in his arms as he began to climb a staircase. Behind them, they heard an audible, "ouch!" James turned to see Remus repeatedly running into a suit of armor._

_ "Oi! Moony! This way! Follow my voice or something," James called to him. Remus turned toward James and began walking. He reached the steps, tripped, and began climbing them on his hands and knees. James sighed. "Maybe they do a bit. But if we get one of them sent to _Azkaban_, they're going to come after us big time. We might not be cowards, but those Snakes and Eagles are a patient and cunning lot. You know as well as I do they would do something particularly nasty to the unconscious girl you're carrying. How would you feel if they spiked her tea with a poison? Poisons are hard to trace, the culprit would probably never be caught and Luna would be dead all because you went running to the professors the moment someone shot an Unforgivable Curse your way. What are you going to do when we're in The Order, mate? We're joining as soon as we graduate. We'll be facing Death Eaters daily, and guess what? They've got nastier things up their sleeves than the Cruciatus Curse."_

_ Sirius considered the wisdom of his best friend's words for a while before replying, "I reckon you're right. We'll just tell Promfrey that we don't know what she was hit with or who did it."_

_ Before James could reply, several girly shrieks reached his ears. Sirius and James spun around. Remus was nowhere to be seen, but the door to the girl's toilet was open and they could hear Remus saying, "Whoopsies."_

_ James charged into the lavatory saying, "Sorry, ladies, excuse us, poor bloke has been Confunded, continue with your business," and he yanked Remus out of the bathroom. With a shake of his head, James proceeded to frog-march Remus the rest of the way to the Hospital Wing with Sirius right beside them._

Sirius gave a wide yawn and stretched. It was very late into the night. Normally he would try counting Hippogriffs to relax his mind, but he knew that wouldn't work tonight. He would make sure that Raleigh paid for what he did, even if it was justice delivered by his own hand than the hand of the Hogwarts Staff. Without even having realized it, he had fallen asleep.

…..

"Mr. Black," the reprimand is what woke him. Madam Pomfrey looked positively livid. Sirius looked down at himself and realized the Cloak had slipped off of him while he had slept. Well damn.

"Good morning, Madam Pomfrey," he said in what he obviously thought was a winning voice.

"You know perfectly well that you have broken several school rules! Visiting patients after hours, sleeping in a bed with a patient, leaving the Hospital Wing without my authorization, shall I go on?"

"Please do," said Sirius, "I always enjoy hearing an oral recount of my achievements."

"Mr. Black, if you are not out of my sight within the next ten seconds, I will give you a detention!"

"But I thought you just said that I was in trouble for leaving the Hospital Wing? Now you _want_ me to leave?" Sirius was shocked that Luna hadn't woken up. Then his thoughts went to the sleeping potion she had taken the previous night. Of course it would knock out a small thing like Luna for all night and at least half of the day.

Truthfully, he didn't want to leave her. He wanted to be there when she woke up. Even though they had only shared a few heated kisses the previous night, he felt like it had been an exceptionally intimate and vulnerable time for both of them. She had finally given in and let herself feel something for him. Which had only confirmed his suspicions that she had previously been trying to ignore her feelings for him; but why?

More important than anything to him was the fact that she had asked him to stay. If he had only kept a better grip on that blasted Cloak while he had slept! "OUT!" yelled Madam Pomfrey. Sirius stood, "Alright, but I'll be back at the start of visiting hours, which will be when, exactly?" He had never paid any attention to the rules before and truthfully had no idea when he was allowed and not allowed to visit people in the Hospital Wing.

"Noon," she replied tersely. Attempting to stay on her good side at least a little bit, Sirius nodded, thanked her, and scampered. He figured it was in his best interest to continue sleeping up in his dormitory but only after setting his alarm clock for quarter to noon so he would be there as soon as he could to see her.

…

Disappointed. That was the best word she could think of to describe how she was feeling when she woke up. Sirius wasn't there. Then she reprimanded herself silently for being so selfish. She shouldn't want him there. Knowing that she needed to study for the Charms quiz coming up, she was dismissed by Madam Pomfrey after a thorough inspection and went quickly to the library.

Her Charms textbook was up in the dormitory but she wasn't ready to face Sirius yet. She was browsing the library aisles at her leisure, every once in a while pulling a book from the shelf to read the description on the back and then replacing the book. For some reason, nothing was catching her interest that day.

She had been stuck in this time for weeks now. Weeks! How long did it take to create a time travel device for Godric's sake? Still, she was content. She wouldn't even mind being stuck here forever except for the small fact that she missed her family. Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of her father and mother; of her brothers and cousins and aunts and uncles.

Brushing the tears away with the back of her hand, she sniffled and shoved a book back into its place hard. A pale hand came out of nowhere, wrapped around her wrist and spun her around. A gasp escaped her lips as she felt the tip of a wand dig into her neck.

"Sev-Severus?" she stuttered in surprise, her eyes widening in surprise at this harsh greeting.

"You," he spat venomously, "are a lying little coward!"

"What?"

"I've been doing some research," he sneered, "I've been using every piece of information I have gleaned from you to try to determine what was different about you. Do you know what my research turned up? Absolutely nothing. There is no record of any _Granger_ having ever been in the auror office, yet you claimed your father was an auror; there aren't even any records of there being a wizard with the surname of Granger who could possibly be your father. Furthermore, there have been absolutely no recent deaths involving a married witch and wizard. In addition, there is no record of someone by the name of Lily Luna Granger even existing at all. Curious, I went one step further. I took a strand of your hair and concocted a powerful potion that would connect your DNA with any surviving wizard relatives and guess what I discovered? You're very closely related to _Potter_!"

Not knowing what to say in response, she blinked at him, still feeling his wand tip pressing into her throat, "I'm sorry, Severus, but I wasn't supposed to tell anyone."

"Tell anyone _what_?" he hissed.

"I'm not Lily Luna Granger," she said quietly, "my name is Lily Luna Potter."

"So, what? Are you some estranged love child of Potter's father? Is he your half-brother?"

"Actually," she said slowly, still deliberating. Should she tell him the truth? Would he believe her? What other explanation was there? He already knew more than enough to realize that there was no reasonable explanation for anything. If she was making a mistake in telling him this, she or Dumbledore could always obliviate him later. "I'm his granddaughter," she finished.

Severus laughed, actually chuckled and said, "That's insane. I'm not that dimwitted, it is obvious that that is a rather weak lie. Despite the fact that your explanation makes no sense, it is also impossible. If it were true, then the only way you could possibly be here would be time travel, which does not exist."

"Well it doesn't exist _now_," she said sharply, "but it does in the future."

"Alright then," he challenged, "if you're being honest, then you wouldn't mind taking a few sips of this, would you?" he held up a small vial full to the brim with a clear liquid. Severus pulled out the stopper and tilted it toward her lips.

"Veritaserum," she whispered, "the truth potion." Severus nodded and her eyes blazed. She brought her hand up, took hold of the vial, and instead of taking a mere sip, which would have sufficed, downed every last drop.

"What is your real name?"

"Lily Luna Potter."

"Who are your parents?"

"Harry Potter and Ginevra Weasley Potter."

Severus' eyes widened slightly; he knew of the Weasleys. They were a pureblood family who he was distantly related to through his mother's side. "Who are your grandparents?" he asked flatly.

Luna frowned, "Sev, you're not going to like-"

"Who," he interrupted, "are your grandparents?"

"On my mother's side, my grandparents are Arthur and Molly Weasley. On my father's side, my grandparents are James and Lily Potter."

"Lily?" the name escaped his lips sounding like a strange mix between a plea, a sob, and a hiss, "_My_ Lily? Lily Evans?"

"Yes."

"How is she in your time? Is she happy and safe?" Those were his main concerns, really. He knew that Lily would never be his, and he had accepted that. One thing he would not accept, however, was if she were being mistreated by Potter.

"She's dead," Luna whispered, watching the horror creep into his expression.

"How? When?"

"Voldemort murdered her personally, when my father was a baby. Only a few short years from now."

"No! I will not allow that to happen!"

"It's inevitable," she knew as she spoke this, it was truth. No matter what Severus Snape did, the outcome would be the same.

"I will make sure it doesn't happen," he insisted.

"You're already a Death Eater, aren't you?" she asked quietly. His eyes flickered with surprise and he nodded slowly, tugging at his robes to reveal his Dark Mark, branded into his forearm. Luna tentatively reached forward, letting her fingers graze across it lightly. An involuntary shiver raked her body and she backed away from him. A part of her wished she had never seen it. The sight of it disgusted her. She snapped her eyes back up to his.

"When He decides to go after her, I will ask him to spare her."

"Why are you a Death Eater, Severus?"

The question surprised him, and in his surprise, he answered truthfully, "The power. The only two things I have ever desired are power and Lily Evans. The moment I knew that Lily was out of my reach, power was all I had left. The Dark Lord has given me a chance to expand my powers, he has given me power, and if there comes a time where he desires to kill Lily Evans, I will use that power to stop him."

Luna knew this story too well, she had heard it many times. The way Severus Snape had pleaded with his master to leave the woman unharmed; kill the husband and child if he must, but leave Lily alone. Voldemort had decided to grant Severus' request, because he had always been a faithful servant, but she had left him no other choice. Lily Evans Potter was the only thing standing between him and his biggest threat.

Severus Snape would even go so far as to go running to Albus Dumbledore to beg him to protect Lily, but that wouldn't work either. Yes, Severus would do everything in his power to keep Lily Evans safe, but in the end, it wouldn't be enough. That was when realization struck Luna; nothing she did in the past would affect her future because she had already been here.

For a moment, this realization made her dizzy and she slid down the bookcase behind her, until her bottom hit the floor and she placed her head into her hands. She was the reason why Severus would go so crazy when he heard the Dark Lord was after the Potters, he would remember her words saying that Voldemort would kill Lily and would try to intervene to save her.

"You're from the future?" he asked quietly, still standing above her, not looking at her.

"Yes," she whispered.

"Please tell me that I am also dead in your time? I do not wish to live in a world where she is gone."

"Yes, you are also dead."

He nodded, accepting his fate far easier than he had accepted the fate of the woman he loved. "She is all that I have ever had," tears leaked out of his eyes, and slowly, he knelt and then sat beside her on the floor of the library, "Lily Evans was my best friend for many years. My only true friend that I've ever had, and I lost her. If I hadn't called her a 'mudblood' that day, we would have stayed friends."

Luna didn't know what to say, so she remained silent. Severus continued, "Potter wouldn't stand a chance at protecting her against the Dark Lord, but I would. I would have been able to protect her," it was weird for Luna to hear Severus talking about the future as if it were already his past.

"Maybe so," Luna consented, "but there's no use dwelling on it, okay?"

"How do you know about me?"

"What?"

"I must be at least somewhat significant in your life. Your first day here, you sought me out to speak with me, and then after that you have attempted to befriend me. What am I to you in the future, Luna?"

Sighing, she opened her mouth to lie, or at the very least tell him she could not say, but the truth potion was still coursing strong in her veins and without her consent, the truth slipped from her lips, "You were a professor at Hogwarts after her death, you became a spy for Dumbledore, you changed sides in the Wizard War. You saved my father's life on more than one occasion, keeping him safe because he was Lily's son, even though you hate him for also being Potter's son. You're a hero in my time, and my older brother is actually named after you."

Severus snorted, "Potter's grandson is named after _me_?"

"Yes."

"Bloody hell, I find that both ironic and amusing. If only he knew."

"Come on," Luna stood and offered her hand to her friend, "it's inadvisable for you to know too much about your own future, and I don't want to tell you anymore, let's just get to work on studying for that Charms quiz, okay?"

Smiling, and deciding to live in the present and worry about the future…well…later, he took her hand and together, the two of them made their way to an empty table, deposited their schoolbooks and began to study.

…

When Luna inevitably ran into Sirius that evening at dinner he was beside himself with worry. Apparently he had gone to the infirmary to visit her but she had already been released. Just as he feared, Luna was back to being cold with him and he couldn't understand why. He somehow managed to get her to sit between himself and James.

"Well, Granger," said James loudly at the Gryffindor table as they ate, "I heard you had a nice snog with Padfoot."

Luna blushed, "Yes, well, to be fair, I was delirious from the potions."

"That's funny, I didn't see Pomfrey give you anything while I was in there," said James.

"Prongs," Sirius warned.

"Sorry, mate, I didn't realize it was such a touchy subject. You would think she would be proud of snogging such a fine upstanding wizard."

"Black? A fine upstanding wizard you say?" Lily Evans jumped into the conversation, "As Luna's friend I should be keeping her away from blokes like you two! Remus is the only one of you who even comes close to qualifying as a 'fine upstanding wizard' and he is happily taken."

"Not to mention," interjected Mary, "that after the plethora of broom closets you've been caught in with different girls, we're not too keen on believing that you're entirely reformed."

"That's not fair," defended James, "he hadn't even met Luna when he was with those other birds. Maybe she has him as captivated as you have me, Evans," James winked at her. Lily Evans flung a spoonful of pudding at James. It hit him right on the nose and splattered so that some got on Luna's cheek also.

Everyone around the table burst into laughter. "Lily!" whined Luna, "It's in my hair, you twat!"

"And on your face," noted Alice with a smirk.

"I'll get that," Sirius leaned over and very deliberately licked her face, from her jaw all the way up to her temple. Luna sat there frozen. Had he really just done that? "Mmm," he said with relish, "tastes better than usual. Oh, there's still a bit on your lips, here let me-"

He leaned forward, meaning to kiss her, but Luna jumped to her feet and stumbled in her hurried attempt to get over the bench she was sitting on. "I'm-I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I just…I can't." and she hurried up to Gryffindor Tower. She threw herself onto her bed and screamed into her pillows. Why did she have to be stuck here? Why did she have to have feelings for _him?_ Most importantly, how much longer could she deny to herself that she was in love with him?

…..

Two weeks. As it turned out, it took two weeks before she was able to admit to herself that she was in love. Two weeks of Sirius attempting to engage her in conversations. Two weeks of repeatedly dreaming about the kisses they had shared. Two weeks of watching him and day-dreaming about what he would look like without his clothes on. Two weeks of butterflies in her stomach and heart pounding thoughts.

Minerva McGonagall was standing in front of the window in her office reading the _Daily Prophet_ when a knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in," she said immediately. The door swung forward slowly, to reveal the new girl. Lily Granger. The girl was standing in the doorway, hugging herself timidly. "Is something wrong, dear?"

"Oh, Aunt Minnie!" Luna ran to the woman and threw her arms around her. Minerva was so startled she dropped her newspaper and tentatively hugged her back. Suddenly she started rambling, "I don't know what to do or who else to talk to and I just needed you. I miss my family and friends so much and you're the only person around here who I really know and trust."

"Me?" she inquired suspiciously, "why me?"

"You're really close to my family," Luna wiped at her eyes as tears leaked out of them, "really close to me in particular. But to be fair, you were close to my brother, too."

"Dear," Minerva looked uncomfortable, "I'm not supposed to know too much about the future, remember? Perhaps it would be best if you went back to Gryffindor Tower and-"

"No! You don't understand. I need you. I need to talk to you," Luna looked up at the woman through a film of tears and realized that despite the fact that she knew this woman, this woman did not know her. It was an awful feeling. Luna would have to say something to convince her 'Aunt Minnie' to trust her. "Dougal McGregor," it was a bit of a low blow, and Luna knew it, but she couldn't think of anything else that would convince this witch how much Luna would mean to her one day.

Minerva clutched at her throat, her eyes bulging and her face draining of colour. "What did you say?"

"You loved him," said Luna quietly, "but he was a muggle. In the end you chose to live in the Wizard World instead of sacrificing it for him. It was a very brave, but also very hard, decision for you to make."

"How did you…"

"You told me about it once," said Luna, a fire starting in her eyes that hadn't been there a moment ago, "and I brought it up now because you faced the same dilemma that I'm facing. Only, I'm not going to make the right decision, Aunt Minnie. I'm going to make the wrong decision and I'm going to love every minute of it."

"I don't understand."

"I'm in love," said Luna, stretching her arms out wide and smiling, "I've been here for seven weeks now and Merlin knows I've done my best to ignore him, but I love him! Even though I know it's wrong, even though I know it will never work out, I'm done trying to fight it!"

"Why did I tell you about – about Dougal?"

"I wasn't really sure at the time, but now I think it might be because you always knew I would be coming back to this time and you wanted to give me all the advice you could without saying directly what you meant. Also, we're very close. Even though you've retired from Hogwarts, I come visit you often, you live in Hogsmeade."

"Miss Granger! You need to stop telling me these things," Professor McGonagall was getting over her initial shock. She pulled herself up to her full height and squared her shoulders.

"Please," Luna pleaded, "I need your help and you're the only person here that I trust. I want to tell you everything. You're the smartest witch I know. Well, you and my Aunt Hermione, but Aunt Hermione's not here. I know that you are clever enough to keep everything I tell you a secret and that it will not affect any decisions you make in the future. I trust you and now you need to trust me."

The older witch peered down at the younger witch over the tops of her square spectacles and studied her closely. Her eyes were honest, desperate, and so very lonely. Minerva's heart went out to the girl. How terrible it must be to have to keep secrets from everyone all the time. "Alright," she finally said, "you can talk with me."

Luna hugged her again and immediately started talking, "My name is Lily Luna Potter. James Potter marries Lily Evans," Minerva smirked at that, imagining the two of them together, it was a humorous idea indeed. "They have a son, Harry James Potter, who is my father. I have an older brother, James Sirius Potter, who is just like my grandfather," Luna smiled, "my next brother is Albus Severus Potter. My dad, Harry, was really close to Professor Dumbledore."

"As amusing as your family tree is, what relevance is it?"

"None, really, I just thought you might like to know. Now, onto the more important things. My father, Harry James Potter, is the wizard who finally defeats Lord Voldemort." Minerva flinched at the use of Voldemort's name, but Luna continued on as if she hadn't noticed, "There will be a time when it appears that the Dark Lord is gone. But he's not. He comes back, even more powerful than he was before, he takes over the Ministry, he takes over Hogwarts, and finally my father stops him. You were there. Or, I guess I should say you _will _be there when that happens. You're really close to my dad, too."

"Gracious," she sank into the armchair behind her desk, "I can't believe…he becomes so powerful."

"Well now you know," said Luna sternly, "I'm sure you better understand why I am struggling so much here. Voldemort is still at large; he was defeated a decade before I was born! Then there's the fact that I am looking daily at people who I know are dead in my own time. Worse than that, I know how and when they die. It's terrible. I've become best friends with my grandmother and it hurts so much to know that when I'm back in my own time she won't be there."

"You mentioned a boy. You said you were in love?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she gave a sad smile, "Sirius Black. He's gone in my time, too," she choked back a sob, "I know that eventually I will go home and he won't be there, and it kills me, Aunt Minnie, it kills me. But I don't even care. I want him more than I've ever wanted anyone or anything in my entire life. I love him more than anything in the world."

"And despite the fact that you know how confusing and convoluted it would be, you are going to proceed in your endeavor to have a relationship with him?"

"Absolutely."

Minerva smiled, "I wish you the best of luck, Miss Potter. Merlin knows if there's a girl in the world who could tame that boy, it would be a Potter," she chuckled softly.

"By the way, you were the one who taught me human transfiguration. A few weeks ago, in class, with the cows," Luna had the decency to blush in an ashamed way, "I suppose you could say I was showing off."

"Is there anything else I should know?"

"Not that I can think of, but I'll be sure to let you know if there is. Merlin, it feels good to talk to someone about all of this," Luna expelled a breath of air, blowing her dark hair out of her eyes and pulled the strap of her bag more securely onto her shoulder.

She turned to leave, but just as she reached the door she heard McGonagall say behind her, "I'm sure your parents, and your grandparents, would be exceptionally proud of the young woman you have become, Lily."

Without responding, Luna continued on her way out of the office.

…

Sirius was sitting in James's favorite squashy red armchair by the fire and he was in a rather tetchy mood. The other Marauders knew it was because of Luna. Apparently she had snogged him the night she was in the hospital but had been ardently ignoring him ever since. He had begrudgingly paid ten galleons to James as he had not been able to convince Luna to go on a date with him before the end of the month, but he still hadn't given up.

James and Lily Evans were becoming friendlier with each other though, and Sirius knew it was only a matter of time before they would be a couple. Remus and Mary were the happy lovebirds of Gryffindor Tower and while Sirius was happy for them, he was also filled with jealousy.

Currently, James and Lily were playing an exceptionally loud game of Wizard's Chess, Peter was reading his Transfiguration notes, Remus was on the couch with Mary in his lap, the two of them whispering to each other and occasionally kissing, and Alice was curled on the end of the couch writing a letter to Frank. Sirius paused to note how lucky he was to have such wonderful friends and anger burned in him again as he thought of the Death Eaters who believed such people were beneath them. As if Lily Evans, a muggle-born, was any less of a person than Mary or Alice who were both purebloods.

He stretched his lanky length out on the chair, letting his head loll back. Luna wasn't in the room. Whenever she was in the same room as him he knew it. Before he could even wonder where she was, the Portrait Hole swung open and she clambered in, her raven hair swaying around her hips. Her book bag dropped to the floor and Sirius let his eyes fall on her beautiful face. There was a light blush on her cheeks and she looked startled.

"Sirius Black," she called out loudly and he started at hearing his name being called from her lips. She didn't look happy but she didn't look upset either. The look on her face could only be described as determined.

"Yes?" he replied trying to sound casual. Cautiously he got to his feet and stood facing her. Everyone in the common room was looking at the two of them now.

"Damn it!" she screamed at him angrily, her tiny hands balled into fists at her sides, "I didn't want this to happen!" she was still yelling, and it was obviously frightening several of the first years, "I told you to stay away from me! I told you that you were dangerous!" her voice was shaking and she was starting to cry, "But no! Not you, Black, you decided to blunder on ahead despite my warnings!"

To his shock, she began picking up random objects and throw them at him. An ink well, a quill, two rolls of parchment, even her own shoe, whizzed by him before she finally caught him in the chest with a cushion she had pulled off of the couch. Sirius rushed to her, to stop her from destroying the common room further. He wrapped his hands around her tightly, trying hard not to think about how wonderful she felt in his arms. Her hands were fists again, and they were pounding on his chest. He was sure he would have bruises there later but he couldn't find it in himself to care about that.

"I didn't want to fall in love with you!" she cried, "but I did," she sobbed, "I did. Sirius Orion Black, I love you, and Merlin help me, I'm a fool, but I _love you_."

Then they were kissing. There was a shocked silence form their avid audience, then a soft whistle, a few cheers, and he heard a distinct, "finally," from an exasperated James. The kiss wasn't like the ones they had shared before. There wasn't any heated fire in these kisses. There was desperation and fear and her lips were wet from her tears. Sirius didn't know why she had reacted this way. He didn't know why she was acting like a crazy bird just because she was in love, but his heart was so full of joy he didn't want to look too deeply into the issue at the moment.

He tried to put everything he was feeling into that kiss; his joy, his bewilderment, his commitment to her, and most importantly, the fact that he loved her, too. When they finally broke apart, many glorious minutes later, she wasn't crying anymore. As a matter of fact she looked just as happy as he felt. Trying to lessen the tension a bit, he brought his hand up to tug on a lock of her hair, as he often did, and asked with a smirk, "Want to go to Hogsmeade with me, Granger?"

Luna laughed, "Absolutely."

…..

"I heard you're dating Black now," commented Severus Snape as he and Luna sat in the library the following evening, working on an essay for McGonagall.

"Yes," she said with a smile, "just happened last night."

"Like grandmother like granddaughter I guess," he quipped darkly, "falling for jackasses."

Luna punched his shoulder, "James and Sirius are _not _jackasses, Severus. I know you don't get along with them, but you get along with me, don't you?"

"A little," he consented, "but that's only because now you're actually being honest with me about a few things. What are you going to do when you have to go back home?"

"I don't know," she told him honestly, "and quite frankly, I don't want to think about that right now if you don't mind."

"You'll have to think about it eventually, though. As much as I hate the bloke, I have grown a bit fond of you over the past few weeks. I don't want to see you get hurt. Not just because Lily is your grandmother, either, but because I actually think of you as a friend."

"You still hiding our friendship from your other friends?"

"Yes," his reply was terse, "how could I possibly explain to them why I'm friends with a Gryffindor? Even more, how could I possibly explain to them that I'm friends with Sirius Black's girlfriend?" he made a face of disgust.

"I understand. It's not like you can tell them that I'm from the future and you're only friends with me to glean pertinent information that might be important to the Dark Lord," she said mockingly.

Severus scowled, "I'm doing no such thing. If that's what I was after, I would have asked you all of those questions while you were under the influence of Veritaserum. But I didn't. Because I am wise enough to understand that there are some mysteries better left to the future."

"Sirius still wants revenge on Raleigh for cursing me," she said quietly as she gingerly touched her abdomen where the curse had struck her.

"I don't blame him," said Severus curtly.

"To think," she continued as if he hadn't spoken, "this is what you all deal with on a daily basis. I had no idea. I've never been hit with a serious curse before. A few minor hexes from my cousins or brothers, a few magical accidents even, but to have someone try to really hurt me so badly. It was scarier than I thought it would be," she said thoughtfully.

"You get used to it," his tone was hard.

She frowned, "You shouldn't have to."

….

**A/N: I'm really excited that Luna and Sirius are a "couple" now. The story can get rolling a bit more. I worry that my readers might get a little bored with the story if they feel like the "climax" of the story is supposed to be Luna and Sirius falling in love, but this is still just the beginning. I'm debating on putting a quick outline of my story in an author's note so you have a good idea of what to expect but without any spoilers. Or I could just keep everything a surprise. What do you think? Do you want a really short outline or do you want to be surprised? Let me know!**

**Yours,**

**MofDA**


	8. The Inevitable

Sirius Black couldn't remember ever having been in a better mood. He felt like he was on top of the world and nothing could bring his spirits down. Until he entered the library. He was looking for his girlfriend. His _girlfriend_. He still couldn't believe it.

After nearly giving up on finding her, he decided to check the back corner of the library, where no one ever went because all of the books in that section happened to be bloody boring. As he peeked around a bookshelf, he saw her and smiled. He didn't even consciously do it, the smile just appeared on his face naturally when he looked at her.

Then he saw who she was sitting next to. Severus Snape was bent over his essay, scribbling away madly, while Luna sat beside him, leaning back in her chair reading a textbook. Neither had noticed Sirius yet. "Sev?" she asked casually.

"Hmm?"

"You're good with potions. What is this mumbo-jumbo about dragon's blood?"

Severus opened his mouth to answer her, but before he could, he found himself slammed forcefully into the wall behind him. Luna leapt to her, pulled out her wand, and spun round to face the person who had attacked her friend.

Sirius Black stood with his wand at the ready and a snarl on his face as he glared at Snape. "Sirius!" she gasped, "Put your wand away this instant!"

"What are you doing with her?" Sirius completely ignored her and growled threateningly at the scrawny Slytherin.

"Studying, Black," the boy replied smoothly, "she asked for assistance with Potions, and I-"

"Well from now on," snapped Sirius angrily, "she can ask me any questions she has about Potions because I'm her boyfriend!"

A smirk played on the edges of Severus's lips, "Well well well, Black, you're not _jealous_, are you? That you found your girlfriend studying in a dark secluded corner of the library with a Slytherin?"

Sirius made a swift movement with his wand, but before the spell was cast, Luna took hold of his arm. "Be nice," she was speaking to both of them, sounding like she was addressing children, "Sirius, love, Severus is just my friend. And Severus, shame on you for baiting Sirius that way! You were just helping me with Potions."

"Be that as it may," said Severus conversationally, "I think we're done here for the evening. If you would be so kind as to remove the spell that has me pinned to this wall, I'll be on my way back to my common room."

Sirius looked mutinously at the boy in front of him. If anyone but Luna had asked him to be nice to Severus, he would have cursed them into oblivion. But because it _was_ Luna who was tugging impatiently at his elbow, he snapped his wand forward, releasing the Binding Spell on his sworn enemy. Severus Snape brushed off his robes lazily, collected his books, and left without another word.

"Sirius," said Luna quietly as she brought a hand up to brush hair out of his face, "you weren't really jealous, were you?"

"Maybe I was," his voice was rough. Luna flinched inwardly. She had known that her friendship with Severus would bother her boyfriend, but she had hoped it wouldn't bother him this much.

"He's my friend," she whispered.

"Why?" Sirius rounded on her. Anger radiated from him, but Luna didn't care.

"Because he's nice and lonely and he needs a friend!"

Sirius snorted, "That's just about the most idiotic thing I've ever heard. He's Dark, Luna. He practices Dark Magic and is without a doubt well on his way to becoming a fucking Death Eater. Is that the kind of friend you want?"

"You don't know anything about him," she said dismissively, "you've only assumed those things."

"He's always been following us around. Trying to get us expelled. He _hates_ us, Lu-Lu. Especially James."

Luna's hand, which was still on his face, traveled down his jaw slowly. She knew that his hatred toward Snape would never go away. She knew that they would never be friends, nor probably ever be able to even tolerate each other. Therefore, if she couldn't win this argument, she would simply distract Sirius from it. Her voice was husky when she asked, "How long have we been dating now?"

"Three days," he answered immediately.

"Do you think that's too soon to get hot and heavy in the library?"

She batted her long eyelashes and gazed up at him with an innocent expression. His grey eyes were dark with lust at her words. "No," he said simply.

"You wouldn't think badly of me if I…" she tugged on his loose Gryffindor tie, "pulled you down onto this table and…," she stretched up onto the tips of her toes and pulled his head down so she could whisper in his ear, "had my wicked, wicked way with you?"

In response, Sirius's hands gripped her waist, pulled her hard against him and he turned his head to nip at her exposed neck. She sighed, relaxing into his body. Nobody had ever made her feel this way before. Sirius lifted her effortlessly and she slid her legs around him as he spun their bodies around to press her into the bookshelf.

His hand slid to the hem of her shirt and she gasped when she felt his cool fingers on the bare skin of her warm stomach. A deep growl of approval vibrated through his chest and Luna felt it against her. Not to be outdone, she tugged his white button-up shirt from his pants, griped the hem with both hands and tore it open, buttons flying in all directions. Sirius's eyes widened at her daring nerve but she just smirked up at him.

He didn't think he had ever seen something so hot in his life. He removed his hands from her sides and put them on the bookshelf, on either side of her head. Luna let her palms glide down his deliciously sculpted chest, his flat stomach, and back up, all the while her eyes followed the path her hands made and she unconsciously bit her bottom lip in a way that made Sirius moan and press his hardened length against her center.

The only things supporting her were the bookshelf against her back and her legs which were wrapped around the gorgeous boy in front of her. When she felt him press himself into her sex, she arched her back, pressing her clothed breasts against his naked chest. Trying to be more considerate with her clothing than she was with his, Sirius was carefully undoing the buttons of her uniform shirt, tugging it free of her skirt.

When he undid the third button, her shirt pulled open enough that her pink lacey bra was entirely revealed. The tops of her cream coloured breasts were begging for Sirius to taste them. He nipped, kissed, and licked his way from her neck down to the valley between her breasts. Luna let out a soft cry of pleasure when he bit just hard enough that she knew she would have a love bite there.

Her breath was coming in pants when she found her voice long enough to ask, "Are you really going to fuck me for our first time in the library, Black?"

Sirius chuckled darkly, dropping his head to let his forehead rest against hers as he fought to catch his breath. Feeling her chest heaving against his, knowing that he was causing these reactions in her, made Sirius have to curl his hands into fists to keep from touching her. Without meaning to, he pressed his erection against her again and was rewarded with an involuntary whimper from her lips.

"You don't like that, do you, love?" he teased, experimentally repeating the movement.

Prepared for it this time, she bit her lip to keep from whimpering and blushed scarlet when a moan escaped her instead. She had never felt this way before, and he had barely touched her! Her half-lidded eyes rolled back into her head as she raked her nails down his back, under his shirt. Vaguely her mind wondered why he was still wearing a shirt. When she reached up to slide the shirt off of his shoulders, Sirius caught her wrists in his hand and pinned them above her head.

"Are you always this dominating? I'm not one to be overly submissive, you know," she told him breathily.

Sirius grinned, "I was actually trying to stop you."

"What?" Luna couldn't help her cry of outrage. "Why?"

"Because you were right. I don't want to 'fuck you for our first time in the library' as you so eloquently put it," Luna glowered as he ran his free hand through her hair.

"Not even if I beg?" she pouted, grinding her hips against him. His head fell back in pleasure for a moment before he regained his composure and shook his head at her with pursed lips.

Before she could put up too much of a fight, Sirius stepped back, letting Luna drop down to her small 5'1 height, and stood with a good two feet of distance between them. "We should get back to the common room," he said tersely.

"You're a tease, Sirius Black," Luna scolded.

Sirius grinned devilishly as he pulled her into his arms, kissed her roughly and whispered, "I never claimed to be a saint, love."

…..

When the two arrived back in Gryffindor Tower hand in hand it was to find Mary pacing worriedly in front of the fireplace. James rolled his eyes at Sirius in an exasperated way, as if Mary's pacing was bothering him. "Remus is in the hospital wing!" she said shrilly to Luna and Sirius the moment she saw them.

"What happened?" asked Luna anxiously as she released her boyfriend's hand and went to her friend.

"I don't know. He's been looking a bit pale, I mentioned it to him yesterday, but he said he was fine. Then, this evening, he said he had to go see Madam Pomfrey and rushed off. I went to the hospital wing to visit him, but Madam Pomfrey refused to let me see him! She said he was ill and needed rest," Mary was practically in tears.

Luna glanced out the window. Just above a swiftly moving cloud was the round full moon. She sighed and wrapped a comforting arm around Mary's shoulders. "I am sure he is fine. Madam Pomfrey knows what she is doing. He probably just has a bad cold."

Mary gave her a weak smile, "Thanks, Luna," the two girls hugged.

"Padfoot," snapped James as he got to his feet suddenly, "Wormtail," he added bracingly, "I think it's time we retire for the evening, mates. If we want to rise early tomorrow morning to grace the inhabitants of Hogwarts with our presence, we should get plenty of rest."

"Godric knows you need all the beauty rest you can get, Peter," said Sirius teasingly. Peter made a face but then laughed good naturedly. Sirius turned to Luna. "Goodnight," he said lightly, thinking mischievously about the ruined shirt his robes were hiding.

"Goodnight yourself, Black," Luna purred sensually as she snuggled up to him for a quick but passionate goodnight kiss.

James fisted his hand into the back of Sirius's robes and yanked him away from the girl saying, "Come on, Padfoot, best get you to bed before you get carried away." The three boys disappeared up the staircase.

Luna glanced around the common room in a bored way wondering what to do with herself now. The night was still young. She slowly dragged her book bag up the stairs and tossed it onto her four-poster bed. Should she write in her journal? No, she felt like she couldn't sit still. She wanted to go for a walk but didn't really have a destination in mind.

Would the shops of Hogsmeade be open now? Perhaps getting a small gift for Sirius would be a good idea and hopefully soften him up just a bit to the idea that she was friends with Severus Snape. But what would he want from Hogsmeade? Luna's eyes lit up as an idea struck her. She would go to Hogsmeade and then Apparate into muggle London to buy him a gift. Shops in London were open to all hours of the night and she was sure he would appreciate a muggle gift than a wizard one. He was almost as bad as her Grandad Arthur with his obsession for all things muggle.

With a girly giggle that sounded nothing like herself, she drew a warm cloak around her shoulders and skipped down the dormitory stairs. With a wave to her friends, she exited the portrait hole humming merrily to herself.

…

After James had unceremoniously dragged Peter and Sirius from the common room, they began to get ready for the night ahead of them. Every night of the full moon they snuck out to meet Remus in the Shrieking Shack. Some nights they explored the castle grounds, some nights they explored the village, others they stayed in the shack. Each time it was an adventure.

"Mate," said James as Sirius shrugged out of his robes, "what happened to your shirt?"

"Luna," said Sirius with a big grin. "In the library," he added, "she was so anxious to get it off of me she couldn't be bothered to pause long enough to undo the buttons. She just tore them off," he gestured to his open shirt.

James made a 'tsk' sound. "Please don't tell me that you shagged her in the library. First of all, for as much as you claim to like the witch that wouldn't exactly be an ideal place to have sex with her for the first time. Second of all, I would be a bit worried about you if you just gave your virginity to someone you've been dating for three days. Thirdly, that would be a bit skanky of her, don't you think?"

"James," growled Sirius, "did you really have to play the 'virginity' card? She doesn't know…that…yet," his grin had slipped quickly into a frown. Nobody at school knew his secret aside from his three best friends. James, Remus, and Peter, knew that Sirius was a virgin. Even _Peter_ had sex before, even if it was because James had helped him out with that.

Sirius wasn't a virgin because of a lack of opportunities. As a matter of fact, he had made sure that several people caught him in broom closets with girls. He and James were the two most desired boys at Hogwarts and the girls he was caught snogging usually told anyone who would listen that he had slept with them and he didn't discourage the rumors.

Remus was the only other Marauder who was still a virgin. This was because of his condition. He respected women too much to have a fling or a one-night stand but was too afraid to commit to a relationship because he was a werewolf. Therefore he kept to himself and didn't give in to any of his lustful urges. Sirius wondered vaguely how long that would last now that he was in a relationship with Mary MacDonald.

James had had a few girls. Sirius knew this and had on one occasion entered the dormitory to hear it for himself. "I just don't understand it," said James in exasperation as he fastened his cloak, "why would that be something that was so important to you?"

"I don't know," Sirius answered honestly.

"Afraid you'll be rubbish at it?" James teased.

Sirius scowled, "No chance of that, mate."

"Come on," whined Peter, "We can tease Sirius about his lack of sexual experience later." Between one moment and the next, Peter had transformed. Being seventeen years old only had one disadvantage that James Potter could think of; they could no longer all fit comfortably under the Cloak of Invisibility. Peter transformed into a rat, letting Sirius scoop him up to save room under the Cloak. James gave them a cocky smirk before throwing the Cloak over the three of them and they made their way to the Whomping Willow.

….

Luna giggled gleefully as she made her way to Hogsmeade. She used a secret passage to get out of the castle then took the main road from the castle to the small village. It was very similar to Hogsmeade in her day, except Zonkos was there. Zonkos had eventually been bought out by her Uncle George.

With a shake of her head she shivered and pulled her emerald green cloak more securely around her shoulders. It was almost Halloween and the air was chilly. She was almost to Hogsmeade now and glad of it. Although she would never admit it, the walk was a bit creepy in the dark.

That was when she heard it. A deep growl followed by a howl. A howl that sent tremors through her entire body because she had heard that sound before. It was the sound of a werewolf. It was close. So bloody close. She was sure it was onto her scent. For one wild moment she wondered if it was Remus, but it couldn't be. He was in the Shrieking Shack, that's what it was built for.

After a moment of being frozen with terror, she began to run. She was closer to Hogsmeade than she was to Hogwarts, but she didn't want to accidentally sick a werewolf on the unsuspecting villagers. At least at Hogwarts there were sure to be enchantments that kept werewolves off of the grounds.

She heard the padding of heavy feet behind her, catching up to her. Her wand was in her hand, but she couldn't think of a spell to use against a werewolf. Not without seriously injuring it, and it was likely that the werewolf was Remus. Normal hexes and jinxes didn't work on a werewolf. Like other magical creatures, they had enough magic in their blood to keep spells from affecting them while they were transformed. A Stunning spell wouldn't work. Nor would _Impedimenta_.

Without warning, a heavy paw caught her in the shoulder. She screamed and was sent sprawling to the ground, her wand knocked out of her hand. Her body skidded several feet before hitting a tree. She was showered with dead leaves as they fell from the tree she had hit. Her eyes searched the darkness for the werewolf and spotted it.

The creature was only a few yards away from her and closing in. It sprang. Luna threw her hands up to protect her face but it turned out there was no need. At the last second, a tall stag leaped between them and caught the werewolf in his antlers, flinging him back and emitting a deep grunt.

Sweet Merlin, that was James! Then the werewolf was definitely Remus. Sirius and Peter must be somewhere nearby as well. The werewolf was shaking himself off and getting ready for another attack. The stag, James, was stomping his hooves in warning. A black furry body blocked her vision.

The entire body of the huge black dog was shaking. Luna reached out and tangled her hand into his fur. "Sirius," she gasped. At the sound of his name, the dog's whole body stiffened and he turned his large shaggy head to gaze at her in wonder. How had she known who he was? "I'm hurt," she wheezed, holding her side. She was sure a few ribs were broken.

There was a whiney and they both glanced over to see James charging Remus down, directing him away from Sirius and Luna. The dog lowered his body and Luna fisted her hands into his fur, dragging herself on top of him. She was a small girl and he was a gigantic dog. He began to run, effortlessly, toward the castle.

Luna knew that he wouldn't turn back into a human. For one thing, it would make them even more of a target for Remus and Sirius could protect her better as a dog. Not to mention, he could run much faster with four legs than two. When they made it past the gates all the way to the front doors, Sirius turned into his human self.

He was frowning deeply at her. "Do you realize that this is the third time since the start of term that I have had to carry you to the hospital wing?" he growled, sounding angry.

"I'm sorry," she snapped, "but I didn't exactly plan on being attacked by a werewolf tonight!"

Arguing the whole way, Sirius carried her up to the infirmary. He watched with a scowl as Madam Pomfrey healed the broken ribs with a sharp flick of her wand and sent them back up to Gryffindor Tower. "How did you know?" he finally asked.

"That you are all Animagi or that Remus is a werewolf?"

"Both," he growled. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Bumbling Boggarts." The portrait swung open to admit them entrance into the common room. Luna went immediately to the empty couch and plopped down. How was she going to explain this?

"I do believe, dear boyfriend, that I told you many weeks ago that I can't tell you everything. You know there's something strange about me, but you don't know what."

"I have an idea," Sirius mused suspiciously.

"Oh really?" Luna raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.

"Yes," he said, "I think that there are actually _two_ likely explanations."

"Do tell," she encouraged. Part of her felt very giddy that Sirius had two theories. Would either of them be correct? Surely not. Who had ever heard of a Time Travelling witch who was the granddaughter of your best mate? Would she admit the truth if he guessed it?

"My first guess," he said as he leaned in to kiss her on the top of her head, "is that you are a powerful Legilimens."

Luna's smile widened, "You're sharp, Black, I'll give you that, but no, that's not correct. Oppositely, I'm a powerful Occlumens. I can keep people out of my mind without any trouble. Unfortunately, I have difficulty getting into the minds of others. What's your second guess?"

"Well damn," he muttered, "I thought for sure the first guess was right. Alright then, my second guess is that you are a Seer."

So close. He suspected that she knew the future. He just didn't suspect that she was _from_ the future. "Nope," she said simply with a shrug.

"What?" he asked in surprise, "Neither of those are correct? But then how on earth do you know all of the things you know? You must be somewhat important to Dumbledore because he and McGonagall both show you special attention. Are you some sort of spy for the Order?"

"Not yet," said Luna with a touch of pride, "but I hope to be. If I'm still here, I'd very much like to join the ranks of the Order of the Phoenix."

"If you're still here?" Sirius's eyes widened and his smile was wiped from his face. "You're not…are you dying?" he sounded horrified.

"No!" she squeaked, "No, I just meant that I don't plan on being here forever."

"What do you mean by 'here'? Hogwarts? England? With me?"

She chewed on her lip, "I can't tell you."

"Can't, or won't?" he challenged.

"_Can't_," she emphasized, "I wish I could, but I can't. Sirius, you knew what you got into when we started dating. You knew there were things I couldn't tell you."

"I hoped, that with time, you would come to trust me enough with your secrets," he whispered the words softly, looking down at their interlaced fingers as he spoke.

"It's not really my secret to tell," Luna looked uncomfortable and fidgeted a bit before saying, "It's getting late. We should go to bed."

"Will you stay with me tonight?" Sirius asked, his expression was innocent but she could see the lust burning in his eyes. The other Marauders were out and about for the rest of the night. They would be alone in his dormitory.

"Only if we just sleep. I'm not…ready…for anything else," Luna didn't tell him why she wasn't ready. She didn't tell him that she didn't want to tie herself to him anymore than she already had. It would only make it harder when she finally went back home.

"Just sleep," he assured her with a smirk, tugging her hand and pulling her to her feet.

Trusting him more than she'd ever trusted anyone in her life, she let herself be led up to his dormitory. She watched with wandering eyes as Sirius stripped out of his clothes, until he was in nothing but his boxer shorts. He was so gorgeous it took her breath away. His lean tanned body rippled with every movement he made, his dark shaggy hair begging her to run her fingers through it.

Luna stood there awkwardly for a moment before she, too, began to undress. Her robes fell to her feet, quickly followed by her shirt and skirt, leaving her in a skimpy pair of panties and a plain white undershirt. Sirius's eyes darkened with lust as he looked her over. He shook his head back and forth before lifting the duvet and motioning for her to climb in.

The bed was small, but not the smallest she had to share with someone else before. Sirius's body was hot to the touch and his skin was smooth against hers. He laid on his back, letting her drape her upper body over his, resting her head over his heart, hearing it's strong beats. Feeling his chest rise and fall with every breath. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, willing the tears that were forming not to fall.

Knowing that soon, too soon, his perfect chest would be scarred, bone thin, that his soul would be darkened and his dreams turning to nightmares as he faced over a decade in Azkaban. And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. Then, his untimely death at the hands of his own cousin. Luna's body convulsed as she worked even harder to keep her tears at bay.

"Shh," Sirius soothed, stroking her hair, as if _he _were comforting _her_. "I'm here, Lu-Lu, I'm here," he murmured.

After a couple more sobs, she'd fallen asleep. Sirius held her relaxed body in his arms wondering what on earth he was supposed to do. This girl had secrets. Secrets that were haunting her. He could see them in her eyes. She knew so much more than she was telling. How could he help her if he didn't even know what was hurting her?

…..

Not a long time later, a girlish giggle stirred Sirius and Luna awake. "No one's here," they heard James mutter in a reassuring tone. Luna looked at Sirius with wide eyes. Sirius shrugged. Then there was the unmistakable sounds of two people kissing heatedly and the rustling of fabric.

Luna opened her mouth to speak but Sirius clamped a hand over her mouth and held a finger over his own lips, motioning for her to be quiet. They heard the curtains around James's bed opening and the subtle creaking of bedsprings as two bodies fell onto the mattress. Sirius searched blindly and quietly for his wand, which was under his pillow.

There was a gasp from the girl, a grunt from James, and Luna childishly slapped her hands over her ears. Sirius gave her a frown of sympathy before bringing up his wand lazily and casting a non-verbal spell around them. They could no longer hear James and his mystery girl, nor could James and the girl hear Sirius and Luna.

"What the hell?" Luna growled, "is James really doing…_that…._with some bint while trying to win over Lily?"

"Well," Sirius winced, trying to defend his friend, but knowing that this was pretty low. "Lily has been giving him the cold shoulder a bit lately, and you can't blame a bloke when he has certain needs…"

"Sirius Black," snapped Luna, "don't you defend him! You ought to go over there and tell them to stop."

Sirius almost chuckled at that, "Oh, I'm sorry, do you _want_ me to watch my best mate shag a girl? Because I'm telling you right now, if I walk over there and pull those curtains aside, James will just keep on…doing…what he's doing."

"That wanker! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind! First thing in the morning," her cheeks were flushing red. She couldn't imagine interrupting them and didn't want to face the awkwardness that would entail.

"Well, we could always…" he said suggestively as he stroked her thigh. Luna blushed, just realizing that while she had slept she had thrown a leg over Sirius's waist.

"If you think I'm going to have sex with you in the same room that other people are having sex, you are insane," despite saying this, she didn't make any attempt to pull away from him. Oppositely, she snuggled into his side even more.

"It's not like we can hear each other or see each other," he pointed out.

Luna mumbled incoherently into his chest. Before Sirius could ask her what she had said, he discovered she had fallen back asleep. In a way he was relieved because during their talk, his boxers had grown progressively tighter. His cock was only a few inches away from her leg, which was wrapped around his waist and for one wild moment he wondered what it would feel like to have her touch him there.

Knowing he would have to be patient, he tried hard to concentrate on something other than how badly he wanted to be inside of the girl who was currently sleeping on top of him. It made him simultaneously uncomfortable and jealous to think of James, in the bed next to his, making love to someone. But Sirius would rather be doing nothing with Luna than everything with someone else.

…..

The next time they woke up, it was daylight. Faintly, they could hear birds chirping and Luna knew the spells Sirius had cast around them had worn off during the night. Luna put her hands on Sirius's chest and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She pulled up the thin strap of her tank top and ran a hand through her unruly hair. Briefly, she wondered how no one else had made the connection yet between her and James.

They had the same attitude, similar personality quirks, the same hair, and other various traits that resembled each other. Gently, she shook Sirius awake. He looked up at her groggily and the thought crossed his mind that he wanted to wake up with her every day. Before he could dwell more on that thought, she quirked an eyebrow at him and jerked her head toward James's bed.

Sirius gave a noncommittal shrug and Luna squirmed out of the bed. "James Potter!" She was rewarded with two surprised gasps from the bed that had the curtains drawn around it. The rant continued, "I know that you have a girl in there with you, so don't try to hide it! I can't believe you would do that to Lily! I am disgusted with you, you worthless tosser!"

A very messy head of raven black hair peeked out from between the curtains. James Potter, sans glasses, was grinning at her like he found her amusing. Luna put her hands on her hips and glared at James with a look that made her almost identical to her mother. It was a Weasley glare and Luna knew firsthand exactly how it felt to be on the receiving end of one of them.

"Go back to bed, Lu-Lu and quit being a hypocrite," James said with a laugh in his voice. That was when she looked down and realized she'd slept in her knickers the night before. Flushing Weasley red, she scrambled into her wrinkled skirt, which was on the floor beside Sirius's bed.

"I am not being a hypocrite," she defended, "Sirius and I did nothing but _sleep_ last night. Even if we had done, erm, other things, at least neither of us are stringing someone else along! How can you grin at me like that? It's positively loathsome what you've done!" The more she yelled the angrier she became. "Where's my wand? I'm going to hit you with such a forceful Bat Boogey Hex that you'll have to go to the hospital wing!"

"Luna," a small and embarrassed voice spoke up for the first time. Luna froze, one hand gripping Sirius's duvet, the other pushing Sirius aside as he tried to stop her from getting to her wand. She recognized that voice.

"No!" she gasped in surprise.

Lily Evans, turning every shade of red imaginable, peeked her head out beside James's. "James wasn't messing around with another girl," she explained, "It was me."

Luna squealed happily, clapping her hands together and rushing to wring James's hand. "Congratulations!" she declared, "I'm so happy for you two! This is excellent!" Jumping up and down, she leaped onto the bed she had slept in the night before, saying, "Isn't this the best thing ever?"

Sirius, who was lying on his bed with Luna's feet on either side of him while she jumped, nodded in agreement, "Yes, you bouncing around like that over top of me is most definitely the best thing ever, love." Without giving her a chance to become embarrassed, he sat up, knocked her legs out from under her and caught her up in his arms and kissed her.

"Were you two um, in here, the whole time?" Lily sounded like she had forced the question out and did not really want to know the answer.

"Yes," said Sirius unashamedly.

"We didn't listen!" said Luna. "We heard James come in with someone and Sirius immediately cast a few charms so we couldn't hear you and you couldn't hear us."

"Hear you _what_ exactly?" asked James suggestively.

"For the last bloody time, Sirius and I have not slept together yet!"

"_Yet_ being the keyword," James was promptly smacked in the face with a pillow for that comment.

…

**A/N: Okay. SPOILER ALERT! Here's a rough sort of outline of where this story is going: several more chapters of Luna stuck in this time. Then, Luna will go back to her time. There will be a series of chapters about each character she left behind. The chapter title will indicate which character the chapter is focusing on (i.e. there will be a chapter titled "Mary MacDonald" and "James and Lily Potter" etc.). The last one of those will be Remus Lupin's. Then there will be several chapters on what happened when Lily returned to her own time and how she is dealing with her life after the time travel trip. It will all be very interesting! **

**SPOILER ALERT OVER!**

**I hope everyone liked this chapter. Next chapter I will go back and explain what happened between James and Lily leading up to their big night together! Small lemon, so be prepared for that! If you have any comments or questions, you know where to leave them and I love receiving them!**


	9. Growing Closer

**A/N: I apologize for how long it took me to get this chapter posted. I had the first half written almost immediately but then my focus was pulled to another story. I didn't want to just crank out an 'okay' chapter when I know all my readers deserve the best I can do, so I put off writing the rest of it until inspiration struck again! Which was today! **

**I plan on/hope to post the next chapter in the next few days!**

**This chapter picks up the night James and Lily first get together, which is also the night that Luna almost gets attacked by Remus in his werewolf form so I hope there's no confusion as I backtracked just a little bit to include the steamy scene between James and Lily.**

**WARNING: Scenes of a sexual nature and language in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

…**.**

**The Previous Evening:**

James Potter wasn't really worried about Luna. Remus, in his werewolf form, didn't get anywhere near her, really. He'd left Remus and Peter in the Shrieking Shack when he returned to Hogwarts Castle. Sirius and Luna had disappeared and James knew that if Luna was in the Hospital Wing, Sirius would stay with her all night.

When he emerged into the common room, Lily Evans was sitting on the couch with one long leg crossed over the other as she glared toward the portrait hole. "Something have your knickers in a twist?" James smirked.

"Where's Luna?" Lily asked immediately, "she's not in the dormitory. I assumed she was out you with you tossers." That confirmed his suspicions; if Luna wasn't in her bed, she must be up in the hospital wing.

"She, uh, may or may not have been injured," he winced, "but no worries! I'm sure she's in the infirmary being patched up right now. Sirius will have stayed with her, of course."

"How was she injured?" Lily Evans demanded.

Sighing, fighting with himself over this decision, James went and sat beside her. The past few weeks he had become very close to Lily Evans. Although this wasn't exactly his secret to tell. "If I tell you," he began, "you must promise to never repeat this."

"Is this about Remus being a werewolf?" she asked.

James stared at her incredulously. "How did you…"

"Severus," she said quietly, "he suspected for a while before we stopped talking in fifth year. Then, in sixth year, when you and Sirius got in really big trouble by Professor Dumbledore, Severus wrote me a note. I expect he just wanted to gloat about his theory being correct."

"He wasn't supposed to tell anyone," growled James.

"To be fair," said Lily with a smile as she reached for his hand, "he told me his theory before you almost got him killed."

James snorted, "I saved him. It was Sirius who almost got him killed."

"What?"

"Sirius thought it would be a laugh to tell Severus how to get passed the Whomping Willow. To be fair, Padfoot really didn't think that Snivellus would try it. Slytherin is a house mostly for cowards and idiots. We were getting ready to go ourselves, to the Whomping Willow. From a window in the castle we saw Severus disappear into the passage. Sirius immediately tore off after him. I think in a way, he wanted Severus to get bitten or worse. Regulus is good friends with Severus Snape and as much as you don't want to believe it, Lily, they are dark. Sirius probably thought he was doing a good thing by ridding the world of one more soon-to-be Death Eater. But in the end, he couldn't go through with it. He ran after Severus, but Professor Sprout caught him out on the grounds after curfew and escorted him back inside. I, however, had had enough sense to grab my Invisibility Cloak before going out on the grounds. I ran after Severus as fast as I could. I caught him in time, but he had already caught a glimpse of Remus transforming into a werewolf."

"I…had no idea," she gasped. "James, please don't tell me…did Remus…Luna hasn't been _bitten_?"

"What? No! Blimey! We might be irresponsible but we're not idiots. He charged at her, knocked her down hard, but we caught him before he bit her."

They sat in silence for a moment before Lily asked shyly, "James, please just be honest with me. Do you only like me because I'm a challenge? If I were to agree to go on a date with you, would I be less desirable to you?" she looked up at him with big green eyes and his heart melted, just as it always did when she looked at him.

"Is that what you're worried about?" she nodded. "I don't like you," he clarified, "I love you, Lily. I love you because you're brilliant, brave, loyal, and you're so damn cute with your little muggle-like quirks. I love the way you toss your hair over your shoulder when you're angry. I love the way you always smell like berries and spring. I love the way your whole face turns red when you yell at me. I love the way you are always so hung up on being good and moral. I love-"

His speech was cut off with her lips crashing onto his. As they kissed, James was shocked to find Lily making all of the first moves. She leaned her body into his with purpose, knocking him over so he was lying on the sofa. Her hands fisted into his hair, tugging it gently and he gave a deep moan of appreciation.

She kissed down his jaw, his neck, her nimble fingers loosening his tie and pulling it over his head, discarding it to the floor. Worried about making a move that would scare her away, James contented himself with resting his hands on her hips, and making sure he was vocal about how he was feeling.

When Lily sighed into his ear, James groaned. When she rocked her hips against him, he growled and flexed his fingers, wanting so damn badly to guide her body but restraining himself. "James," she murmured after a while, when her whole body was tingling in anticipation and her panties were wet with her desire.

"Hmm?" he hummed in response, his eyes barely open as he gazed up at her with lust in his eyes.

"I want you," she told him.

His eyes snapped wide open and he sat up quickly, almost knocking her to the floor, "Lily…do you mean what I think you mean? You mean you want me to…to…" he gestured to both of their bodies, "with you?"

Lily bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Yes, James, I want you to fuck me."

James smirked at her cockily, "I'm not going to fuck you," he said as he leaned forward to gently suck on her neck, "I'm going to make love to you. I'm going to be sweet and gentle and take my time worshipping your body with the devotion it deserves."

"Oh James," Lily gasped. Bravely she reached down and stroked the large bulge in his trousers.

"Not here," he told her. Without waiting for a response, he jumped to his feet and pulled her with him up to his dormitory. When they arrived, he was quick to assure her, "No one's here."

She jerked her head in assent as they continued kissing. His hands made quick work of her top, dropping it to the floor. Somewhere in his mind he was curious if one of his dorm mates would come in the next morning and see the blouse. Part of him hummed with pride at the thought. He wanted to shout from the top of the tallest tower that he was finally going to have Lily Evans.

In the darkened room, they could hardly see each other, but the light from the full moon was enough. James led her to his bed and fell onto it with her on top of him. She gasped and he grunted as her body moved deliciously against his.

Suddenly the brave girl from downstairs was gone. Lily squirmed so she was lying beside him, with her arms protectively in front of her chest, hiding her black bra from James's hungry view. "Not shy in bed are you, Lily?" he teased as he reached out a hand to stroke along the tops of her breasts.

"No," she said but her actions said otherwise. She looked away from him, up at the canopy of the bed. "I'm just not exactly sure what to do."

"Lily, love, you've never done this before?"

"No. And so help me, James Potter, if you make one jab about this or tell anyone I will-"

He was kissing her with passion he'd never kissed her with before. His body was aching to be inside of her. That one simple secret. The one sentence made him almost explode in his trousers. To know that he was going to be the first bloke to touch her like this. The first one to see her like this. It was making him crazy with lust.

Her lips parted open in surprise at his insistence, allowing his mouth more access to hers. "I'll teach you," he told her sincerely, "and not breath a word to anyone. If you're still sure you want this, of course?"

"I'm sure."

"Alright then. Roll onto your back and relax," she did as she was told. He put his hands on her knees and slowly separated her legs enough so his body could slide between them. He laid his chest against hers and continued to kiss her while his hands stroked her body everywhere.

He pulled down her odd muggle pajama bottoms and let his eyes take in the scene in front of him. Lily Evans lay in nothing but her black bra and matching black panties on the bed before him. She wasn't looking at him, probably too embarrassed, but her body was trembling and there was a damp spot on her panties.

He covered her body with his again and reached under her back, urging her to lift herself up as he reached for the clasp on her bra. It came open under his skilled touch and he tugged it off. If he could see properly, he was willing to bet all the money in his Gringotts Vault that she was probably blushing as red as her hair.

Before touching or tasting her exposed breasts, as he soon planned on doing, he pressed his chest against hers again and ran his fingers along her jaw, "You're beautiful," he told her before pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead. Then he let his lips move farther south. Kissing, licking, and nipping at one breast while his hand played with the other, pinching her nipple while she squirmed beneath him in pleasure.

Merlin he could do this forever. He slid his fingers down her body into the hem of her knickers before tugging them down her legs. She assisted him in getting them off of her and onto the floor. James kissed and licked his way down her body until he reached her sex. His mouth was about to taste her when she said, "James, we can do that later," her hands were tangled in his hair again and he loved it. "I just want you inside of me now, okay?"

James had never seen this side of Lily. Normally she knew exactly what she wanted and was so fucking confident about it. Now, however, she was shy about telling him what she wanted and timid about expressing her desires. "I'm going to absolutely ruin you and love every moment of it," he said suddenly, "I'm going to make love to you tonight until you're screaming at me what you want me to do."

Lily's lips, which were swollen by his kisses, formed an O of surprise at his words, but she didn't argue. "Why am I the only one of us who is naked? I may be a novice with this, but I'm pretty sure you need to take off your clothes as well."

"Is that what you want?" he inquired innocently.

"Bloody _yes_," she exclaimed. James smirked, already he was starting to see more confidence in her. James sat up, leaving her body open to the chilly air of the dorm room, as he pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor. Lily ran her hands up and down his chest, reveling in the muscles she'd never bothered to notice before.

His hands tugged at his belt, the button, then the zipper, of his trousers. He pulled them down his legs along with his boxers, kicking them to the foot of the bed. James Potter was in front of her now entirely naked with his protruding erection wanting to be inside of her so badly it was twitching and pulsing.

Lily wrapped her hand around it timidly. James brought his hand over hers and tightened her grip significantly, groaning at the sensation. With careful movements, he showed her how he liked to be stroked and she caught on quick enough. Soon she had him thrusting into her hand. "James, I can't take this anymore," she begged, licking her lips and looking up into his eyes. The forest green eyes he loved were dark with desire. "I need you," she whimpered.

Not trusting himself to speak, he simply nodded, and pressed her down into the mattress. Preparing himself to enter her, he took hold of his cock and positioned it at her entrance. "It's going to hurt," he told her, "but not for long. Just for a few moments. Don't be scared, alright? I'll try to hurt you the least amount possible. Then, I promise, I'll make it up to you," His meaning was clear and the look in his eyes guaranteed pleasure.

Lily threw her head back onto his pillows and arched up into him as he slid himself slowly into her. When his tip reached her barrier, he kissed her hard on the lips and sank even deeper into her. She squirmed again, this time in pain, and instinctively tried pulling her body away from his, but James had a firm grip on her hips and drove in until he was fully sheathed inside of her. He stayed like that, not moving, for several moments that felt more like eternity.

Never had anything felt this fucking good. She was so fucking tight and so fucking wet and so fucking _his_. "Alright," she panted after a moment, "it doesn't hurt as much," she rocked her own hips against him, causing friction against herself and when James felt her shiver in pleasure, he knew it was time for him to continue. With deep meaningful strokes he quickly had her on the verge of orgasm. His lips were everywhere, his hands moved from his hips to her breasts, squeezing them with expertise. He was panting in her ear, the hot breath tickling her in a positively sinful way.

Knowing she was close, feeling her walls clenching rhythmically around his cock, he whispered raggedly, "Fuck, Lily, I love you, come for me, love," and she did. Her body convulsed around him and she screamed her pleasure to the canopy above them.

James followed two quick thrusts later, finishing deep inside of her. Lily felt it within her and almost finished again at the hot sensation. James collapsed on top of her, both of them fighting for breath. "Oh James," she finally said, "that was wonderful."

Normally he would have smirked and teased her about this statement, but Lily meant so much to him that he wouldn't dare risk embarrassing her after what she had given to him. "You're wonderful," he corrected with sincerity, "and I love you."

He rolled himself off of her and pulled her naked body against his, wanting to feel her skin against his all night. "James?" she was the quiet shy girl again and he quirked a curious eyebrow down at her. "I think…that I love you, too."

"Are you sure that's not just the sex talking?"

"I'm sure. I've been thinking it for a couple of weeks now."

Being happier than he'd ever been in his life, James Potter snuggled against his love, fully intending on sleeping. Until the mischievous redhead in his arms started tracing patters on his chest lightly with her nails and asked, "Can we do that again?"

…..

Six times. That was how many times James finished inside of Lily before she finally seemed sated. James thought he could sleep for the rest of the week he was so bloody tired. But he didn't want to stop making love to her and she very obviously did not want him to stop. They'd tried a variety of positions, speeds, and dirty talk. As the dorm room began to lighten with the first rays of sunlight, the content witch cuddled against him and fell asleep.

James followed immediately. They were awoken by an angry yelling bint only an hour later. James was torn between the feelings of being amused by Luna and wanting to hex her for waking him. After she yelled at him for having sex with another girl, Lily piped up and told her the truth.

Luna and Sirius got dressed and left the dormitory afterwards, leaving James and Lily quite alone. They promptly fell back asleep. But not before Lily had time to grumble, "Thank Merlin it's the weekend."

…

When Lily Evans finally managed to drag herself out of James Potter's bed she didn't know what to do. She simply could not picture herself descending the boys' staircase with her head held high.

"Here you are," it seemed that James could read minds as he promptly threw his Cloak of Invisibility around her shoulders.

"What..? Oh! Oh...my! My body is gone!"

James did not think he would ever tire of surprising her. Nor would he ever tire of hearing that infectious giggle or seeing that breath taking smile. Not if he lived to be a thousand years old.

She snuck silently through the common room to her dormitory, showered and cleaned up, then re-entered the common room feeling much better. The only difficulty, however, was the soreness between her legs. It was tender to the touch and she could barely sit on the cushions on the sofa.

Luna glanced over and noticed the way Lily winced as she sat down and barely held back a chuckle. Like a good friend, she ran up to her dormitory and returned with a vial of a cream-colored potion. "Apply this to any place you might be...hurting," she whispered with a wink.

Lily understood what she meant and sent her a quick look of thanks before running off to give the potion a try. "Come on, it's time for dinner!" Luna stood and slapped Sirius's knee. They had been snuggling on the sofa as he read aloud to her.

"Lily Luna Granger?" asked a timid second year as Sirius stood and stretched.

"Yes?"

"Professor Dumbledore asked me to give you this," the shy boy handed over a rolled up piece of parchment and scampered.

With trepidation she unrolled the scroll.

...

_Dear Sirius,_

_ Every day I am more and more afraid that I'll wake up in my own bed at home and never see you again. The fear is even more of a reality since I received the parchment from Professor Dumbledore asking me to meet with him this evening after dinner. If I don't come back, I want you to know that I am happy and healthy but also far away from here. _

_ I suppose there's no harm in telling you now that I was from the future. I won't say anymore than that. In my day you're a hero. Everyone knows your name and your story. But nobody knows you the way I know you now and I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with you and all of my other friends. Please tell James and Lily that I love them. Tell Mary and Alice that in the short time I knew them I felt like we were sisters. Tell Remus and Peter thanks for including me and making me feel welcome._

_ If I return to you tonight, then you'll never read this letter. Quite honestly I'll be happy if that happens. I don't want you reading these words and me being nothing more than a memory to you. I want to be real. I'm so scared and so sad but I wouldn't have changed a thing. Well, maybe, I would have given into my feelings for you a bit sooner. Maybe we would have had a longer time of happiness. I hope you know, Sirius Black, that I love you. I will love you forever. _

_ Yours, _

_ Lily Luna Potter_

Luna looked over her note with a frown. She knew she shouldn't tell him, but a part of her felt that he had to know. He deserved to know. Perhaps he would think she was James's daughter? It didn't matter. Not really. Dumbledore had requested her presence that evening and she knew it had to do with the Time Turner.

Halloween was tonight, too. Normally every Halloween night she visited her grandparent's graves in the cemetery in Godric's Hollow with her parents and brothers. Even when she was at Hogwarts, she was released immediately after the feast every year for a few hours. Harry Potter could pull strings like that. Tonight, however, she would either be back in her own time in her own bed, or in her dormitory bed. Because those graves didn't exist yet.

The sun was just coming up and could be seen from the window of her dormitory. Mary mumbled in her sleep before rolling over. Lily Evans wasn't in the dorm and everyone knew she had taken to spending almost every night in the boys' dormitory, sleeping in James's bed. Alice sat up and stretched. Merlin, it was like that girl had an internal alarm clock. She knew when the sun started shining and that was when she woke up. Every morning. Which also meant she was starting to sleep in a bit later as winter approached and the days shortened.

After almost killing her, Remus was now avoiding Luna like the plague. Despite the efforts of James, Sirius, and Luna herself all trying to tell Remus that she was fine and there was no need for him to feel so guilty, he couldn't even look her in the eye. Luna wished she had time to change that before she left.

Luna wiped away the tears streaming down her face with the back of her hand. Today was going to be a good day. If it was her last one here then it was sure as hell going to be a good one. Tomorrow was supposed to be her first real date with Sirius, to Hogsmeade. Now she might never get an actual first date with him.

As she made her way to the Great Hall for breakfast, Luna was startled to find that Severus Snape was the only other person up this early. "I might be going home today," she told him.

His eyebrows rose until they disappeared into his hair. "I thought you would be happy about that."

"I thought I would be, too."

"It's because of Black, isn't it?"

"No," she answered honestly, "I mean, he's a part of it, yeah, but everyone here I'm going to miss so much."

"Isn't anyone still alive in your day? Or did the Dark Lord wipe out our entire generation?"

"Can you keep it a secret?"

"Obviously," was his snippy retort.

"Alice is the only one," Luna whispered, choking back a sob as she covered her mouth with her hand. "And she's in St. Mungo's. I've never actually met her."

"What do you mean she's _in_ St. Mungo's? Does she work there?"

"No, she's a patient. The Lestrange's tortured her and Frank into insanity. They don't recognize anyone as far as I know. They've improved over the past forty years, but from what I've heard she still can't string together a whole sentence."

Snape's face gave away no emotions. "I see," he said simply.

"I'm sorry," Luna smiled through her tears, "I must seem quite silly to you. Crying over people who are alive and well just because I know someday they won't be."

"It's not silly at all," Severus hesitated, glanced around nervously, and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "I'm not really sure if this makes you feel better or not, but it looked like you could use a hug and this was really the best I was willing to do," he explained stiffly.

Luna laughed then threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "I don't have anyone else I can talk to about this."

"About what, exactly?" Sirius Black stood, rigid, in the doorway of the Great Hall, watching his girlfriend hug a Dark scummy Slytherin Voldemort supporter while confiding in him. Confiding in him things that she refused to confide in Sirius.

"Sir-Sirius," she stuttered, pulling out of the embrace. "Let's eat before we leave for Transfiguration, yeah?"

"I'm not hungry all of a sudden," his voice was cold, distant, and it worried Luna. "You can tell him and not me?" he snapped.

"I didn't tell him exactly," she winced, "he sort of guessed."

At these words, Sirius's eyes blazed in anger. How had _Severus_ figured out her secret when he couldn't figure it out himself? "Does that bother you?" Severus taunted as he lazily picked up a glass of pumpkin juice and took a sip. "That your girlfriend can talk with me about things she can't talk about with you?"

Sirius lunged for Severus, wands forgotten, just wanting to pummel him with fists. His way was blocked by a short curvy girl who was pointing a finger at him. "Don't you dare," she hissed, "just because Severus guessed my secret doesn't mean that he has something on you." She was quick to round on Severus also, "And you had better stop baiting my boyfriend like that or I'll stop hanging out with you."

"What a shame," said Snape sarcastically, "I did so enjoy spending time with a goody-goody Gryffindor who spends her days trailing after Potter and her nights with her legs wrapped around Black."

This time it was Luna who pulled a wand on Snape. "How dare you! I thought we were friends!"

"We are," he explained casually, "but I can't stand them," he narrowed his eyes at James, Remus, and Peter, who just entered the Great Hall.

"Hmph," Luna turned away from Snape and strutted back to the Gryffindor table. In that moment, her resemblance to James Potter was uncanny. Snape laughed out loud. She strutted just the way her grandfather did. Her face tilted up toward the ceiling, her stride confident and purposeful, her eyes wide and daring, and Snape couldn't believe how idiotic those boys were to not have figured out her secret yet. To him it was so bloody _obvious_.

Sirius wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her body closer to his, even though he was so much taller than her. "I really don't like that bastard," said Sirius, talking about Snape.

"He doesn't like you, either," she replied.

"It really does bother me that you told him something you won't tell me."

"Sirius, I explained this already, I didn't tell him, he guessed."

"Maybe you could give me a hint."

"I give you hints all of the time, you just never catch them," she thought of all of the slip-ups she had made so far. Knowing so much about all of them. Her resemblance to James. How close she was to Professor McGonagall.

"I'll just have to start paying closer attention," he whispered into her hair before lightly nipping at her ear. She giggled and knew he was just trying to avoid an argument. An argument about her friendship with Snape. An argument about her secrets. They both just wanted to spend a nice day together. Only she knew it might be their last day together.

...

After knocking three times on the solid door to Dumbledore's office, Luna heard his voice call, "Enter."

She pushed the door open and felt strange to find the place so similar and yet so different from what it looked like in her own time. Professor Dumbledore sat behind his desk looking exactly like every portrait and picture she'd ever seen of him.

Professor McGonagall was there also, sitting on the opposite side of the desk from the Headmaster with her lips thinned into a tight line. "You wanted to speak with me, Headmaster?"

"Yes, as I assume you already know, it's about your rather unique situation."

"If you're sending me back now, just spit it out," she begged.

"You don't wish to return home?" her depressed tone had not gone unnoticed by either professor.

"I don't think I can give you a simple answer to that question."

"Does this have anything to do, perhaps, with Mr. Black?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he asked the question.

"To an extent. But also with the other friends I've made here. I find that I love them all very much, Professor, and I'm sad to leave them. Especially Mr. Black."

"If I may?" Professor McGonagall spoke for the first time, "I see nothing wrong with your relationship with Mr. Black. After much study on the subject and asking you many questions, I am inclined to believe that nothing you do in this time will effect the future, Ms. Potter. It is my belief that in your own time, you'd already been here."

"I quite agree, Minerva," said Dumbledore, "however the fact remains that I also believe it is your destiny to return home at some point. What do you think?" They both turned to her expectantly.

"I believe that I must return home at some point. For many reasons which I will keep to myself, if I may."

"That day," said Dumbledore gravely, "is not today. You can relax, Ms. Potter, because the Time Turner devices are not yet ready. I called you in here to inform you that progress has been made but much slower than I anticipated. I wish to asked you if you recalled reading any inscriptions on the Time Turner you possessed?"

"Yes," she recalled immediately, "I don't remember much of it. Albus read it aloud to me and I-"

"Albus?" Interrupted McGonagall.

"My brother," she explained hastily, "something about the sun and counting hours...it rhymed, if that helps."

"It does indeed help," said Dumbledore as he scribbled down a few notes. "You are adjusting well, I take it?"

"Oh yes. Hogwarts has always been like home to me and the people in it are, well, I was going to say 'like family' but some of them really _are _my family."

"If there's nothing further you wish to discuss, you may return to your dormitory, Ms. Granger," said the Headmaster.

"Is there anyway you could possibly give me a time frame, Sir?" she asked in quiet voice.

"Months," he sighed, "it's quite possible that you might graduate here."

"Graduation! That's in June!" This news both thrilled and horrified her.

"I'm well aware what month graduation is in," he replied politely, "but there's nothing else I can do that I'm not already doing. As it is I have been to the Ministry at least twice a week since you first arrived and have had countless visits from Ministry officials on the subject."

"I didn't mean to imply that you weren't trying your best, Sir, I was just surprised."

He appraised her silently over the tops of his half-moon spectacles while she fidgeted uncomfortably before saying, "I said it before and I shall say it again; it's my firm belief that you will return to your own time, I just do not know _when_."

...

Beside herself with joy, Luna was exceptionally vibrant during the Halloween Feast. Talking, laughing, and spending time with people she'd grown to love caused her to be almost overwhelmed by her emotions.

"Happy Death Day, Sir Nicholas," she sang to the Gryffindor Ghost as he floated by.

"My dear!" he cried, very obviously delighted that someone remembered his Death Day, "Who told you?"

"I'm afraid that's one secret I have to keep to myself," she chided teasingly. The ghost bowed in her direction then glided on down the table.

"One secret?" Sirius scoffed, "you keep many more secrets than just one, Sweetheart."

"All girls have secrets," Lily defended her friend. It was a joke amongst the Gryffindors that ever since Lily Evans shagged James Potter she was in a much better mood. But whether that was attributed to the shagging or their new relationship, Luna wasn't sure.

Before Sirius could make a retort, the students were dismissed for bed. After giving her boyfriend a kiss goodnight, Luna went upstairs and pulled on warmer clothes. Whether the graves had been filled yet or not didn't really matter. Going to the cemetery on Halloween night had been a family tradition for years and Luna couldn't shake the feeling that that was where she needed to be.

When she snuck back down through the common room, she didn't even notice that Sirius was hiding in the corner. What she had said earlier really made him think. He was dying to figure out her secret so he decided to be a bit more stealthy about it. A Slytherin had figured it out, so perhaps like a Slytherin, he would have to be devious.

This assumption paid off when he caught sight of her, dressed in dark midnight blue clothes and a matching winter cloak, dodging out of the portrait hole. Using magic and his own natural talent, me managed to follow her unnoticed all the way out of the grounds of Hogwarts.

When she was just barely passed the gates, she stopped, squared her shoulders, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. He knew what she meant to do a split second before she did it. She was going to Apparate. Throwing caution to the wind, he lunged toward her and barely managed to catch hold of her cloak before being squeezed into darkness.

Their destination, he realized with a jolt, was a graveyard. "Sirius!" she squealed, "Did you follow me?"

"No," he teased as he straightened up to his full height, "I just happened to be lurking around the castle gates when you wandered through them."

"Well, I would appreciate it very much if you returned to Hogwarts now."

"And let you go galavanting through a graveyard in the middle of the night on Halloween? Are you barmy? Why the bloody hell did you come out here by yourself in the first place? It was a dangerous and stupid thing to do!" Sirius Black stopped there in surprise at his own words. He'd never scolded anyone like that before.

"Aw," Luna noticed this and wrapped her arms around his middle, "you care about me."

"Of course I care about you," he grumbled as he returned the embrace, "and it drives me batty that you don't seem to care about yourself."

"This," she changed the subject gently, "is Godric's Hollow. Where I grew up. Several members of my family are in that graveyard and when my parents were around every year we would come here and visit their graves."

"Why on Halloween?"

She shrugged in a way that was too casual for him to believe the words that followed, "It was just our tradition."

They linked hands and Sirius pushed the kissing gate open to allow them entrance into the silent cemetery. The only sounds that could be heard were the crunching of leaves beneath their feet and the occasional dog barking in the distance.

Her feet followed the path she knew so well. When they reached the place where her grandparents bodies would lay in a few short years, she fell to her knees. It impacted her more than she had thought it would to see the unmarked grass.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

"Fine," her voice was a hoarse whisper. Sirius clamped his hands onto her shoulders and hoisted her up to her feet.

"You said you visited graves," he pointed out, "there are no graves here."

With a curt nod she turned from the place that she knew would give her nightmares for years to come and led him a little ways over to the grave of Ignotus Peverell. "An ancestor of mine," she said vaguely.

"Huh," Sirius rocked back on his heels and glanced from her to the headstone three times before continuing his thought, "James claims to be descended from Ignotus Peverell, too."

"Strange," Luna said airily, "perhaps he and I are distantly related."

Sirius gave a jerky nod, "Most witches and wizards are. All purebloods are if you go back far enough, and didn't you say your mum was a pureblood?"

"Yes," said Luna, jumping at his explanation, "I'm sure you and I have similar relatives somewhere along the line as well."

He gave a bark of laughter, "I'd love it very much if you never said that again."

Although she didn't point out any other relatives of hers, they weaved between the headstones for another hour, commenting on many surnames they recognized. "Blimey," said Sirius as they made their way back to the kissing gate, "I had heard of Godric's Hollow of course, but I never realized just how steeped it was in magical history."

"Mmhmm, even more so -" she stopped. She'd almost said, '_even more so in my time_,' and had barely managed to catch herself.

Sirius gave her a sideways glance but didn't comment otherwise. "I'll figure it out eventually," he assured her, "and soon." He tugged her close to his side and asked, "Ready to go back to school?"

Luna smiled up at him, "With you, I'm ready to go anywhere."

"Oh, well in that case I will Apparate us directly to Three Broomsticks. I hear the bedrooms they have available are quite nice, really, though we'll probably have to put a silencing charm on the room so we don't traumatize poor Rosmerta."

Luna rolled her eyes as he Apparated them away, the only thing remaining was Sirius's echoing laugh for a few moments in time.


	10. Happy Birthday, Sirius

Lily Luna Potter did not get nervous. That word simply did not exist in her vocabulary. She was far too confident to be nervous about anything, especially a date.

Then why were her palms sweaty? Why was her stomach fluttering with the wings of hundreds of butterflies? And what the fuck was with the trembling? After several deep calming breaths she reminded herself that Sirius was already her boyfriend. It's not like she really had to impress him.

Her outfit was simple. Unfortunately she couldn't find anything resembling the muggle attire she normally wore in her own time. Instead, she was wearing bellbottom jeans that flattered her hips, but made her legs look short. She was well aware of the fact that she was short. She didn't need her trousers reminding her of that fact.

"You could always wear a skirt," commented Mary as she strutted about the dorm in her knickers.

"It's bloody cold outside," Luna growled, tugging at the form-fitting top and adjusting the fashionable scarf around her throat. "It's too bad that not all of us have legs that go on forever," she sighed wistfully as she shook her head at Mary's legs.

"Yeah, well, you've got me beat in the boob department," Mary replied with a grin.

"Oh! Can I do your hair?" Lily Evans had just entered the dorm and saw that Luna was tugging angrily at her raven hair by it's roots. Luna nodded her head and Lily pounced on her, wand at the ready. "Your hair is gorgeous."

"Thanks," Luna shifted uncomfortably as Lily ran her fingers through it while muttering spells.

"I'd wager it's almost the exact same color as James's," she said this in a tone that clearly implied it was a compliment. Because anything that reminded Lily of James was considered a good thing now.

Luna bit her lip, "Er, yeah, I reckon so."

"There you are," Lily stepped back and Luna glanced up in the mirror to find that her hair now fell in soft spirals, and was pinned back on one side elegantly. It made her look older, more sophisticated.

"I love it," the friends hugged briefly before Luna turned to Mary, "You have a date with your lovely boyfriend today also, MacDonald, so you might want to put some clothes on."

"What's the point? Remus prefers me without clothes."

Lily gasped, "Mary! You and Remus did...but...you didn't tell me!"

Mary smirked, "We haven't had sex yet, Lils, calm down. I was just referring to that night on the Quidditch pitch when he kissed me for the first time."

"Yeah, well, sometimes it takes you being half-naked before a bloke realizes he fancies you," said Luna with a swish of her hips as she spun around to inspect herself in the full-length mirror.

"Um, Luna, are you a virgin?" asked Alice quietly.

"No," Luna shrugged as if she didn't care much about it, "I had a boyfriend before I came here, Lorcan, and I had sex with him loads of times."

"What happened there? You're not still dating him, are you?" Alice asked with wide eyes.

Luna smiled, "No, he wanted to travel. His passion is studying magical creatures, and we agreed that we would be better off as friends because I liked it right where I was."

"It's a good thing you're not a virgin," said Mary wisely, "we actually discussed it when you started seeing Sirius. We've never seen him like this with a girl before, but that doesn't mean anything. Before you, he was with a different witch every night."

"And you were concerned that he would take my virginity, then if we broke up, I would be that much more devastated?"

All three girls nodded their heads yes. "But that won't happen," Lily dismissed quickly, "James and I have talked about it. I guess Sirius is really into you. Even James can't believe it."

Everyone groaned and threw pillows at Lily. She had been unable to talk about anything other than James ever since they finally got together. "Sometimes it takes being half-naked to get with a bloke, other times it takes shagging," Mary teased Lily.

They all burst into fits of giggles and continued getting ready for their day in Hogsmeade.

...

The Marauders were eating breakfast nervously. Where were their women? Peter was the only one who was eating normally, casually commenting on stopping by Honeydukes that afternoon and looking forward to a warm butterbeer.

"Where are they?" growled an impatient Sirius.

Remus put a hand on his shoulder, "You know women, Sirius. Be patient, mate."

"Ah, there's my Lily!" James jumped to his feet, straightened his clothes, and rushed to greet her before she could even reach the table. "What took you so long?" he asked as he absentmindedly began piling food onto a plate for her.

"I was getting ready - James, how did you know what I wanted for breakfast?" she asked with a laugh as she looked down to find half a grapefruit, a slice of buttered toast, and a small bowl of oatmeal.

"I pay attention, love. You look beautiful, by the way," he mused.

Lily rolled her eyes and dug in to the food before her. A moment later, Luna, Mary, and Alice came in, all three were laughing, but none as loud as Luna. She glanced over at Sirius, gave him a very obvious (and seductive) wink, whispered something to her friends, and more laughing ensued.

Not wanting to look as whipped as his friend, Sirius stayed seated and waited for his witch to reach him. She bent her head down to give him a heated kiss as several people in the Great Hall wolf-whistled. Used to having a lot of attention, neither Sirius nor Luna minded.

"Merlin, I'm going to have a difficult time keeping my hands off of you today," he whispered.

She cocked an eyebrow at him, "Don't you always?"

"Yes, but I've never seen you in trousers before and they show off the shape of your thighs in a very appealing way," he gave a light growl.

"Please, some of us are trying to eat," teased Mary as she tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder and gave Remus a chaste kiss on his jaw before reaching for the sausages.

Once they'd all finished eating, they set off for the village together but all going at different paces. Peter had rushed off in a scurry, anxious to reach Honeydukes. Remus and Mary had their heads close together and were whispering excitedly as they kept up a quick pace. Luna and Sirius flirted wildly while walking normally. Lily and James trailed behind all of their friends as they repeatedly got distracted snogging.

"I'm telling you! They make me look short!"

"Your shortness makes you look short, baby," Sirius replied evenly, "but I don't know why you care. I happen to like you just the way you are. You are the perfect height."

"You don't think they make me look a bit...stubby?"

He snorted, "I've seen what's beneath them. There's no way in hell I'd call anything about you _stubby_."

Satisfied with his response, she twined her fingers with his and replied, "I'd like to see what's beneath your trousers."

"You've seen me in my pants before, or have you already forgotten?" he feigned offense.

"How could I forget the sight of you in nothing but a pair of boxers? It was the sexiest sight I'd ever seen. But I meant that I'd like to see what's under your boxers as well."

"That can be arranged," his voice had dropped down into his 'I want to shag you' tone and Luna hurried to change the subject.

"Is there anything else about my appearance today that's different from normal?" purposefully she turned her head back and forth to show off her hair.

Sirius pretended not to notice, "Um, did you do your make-up differently?"

"I'm not wearing any make-up."

"Ah, I thought there was something a bit less sexy about - ouch! I was just joking, sweetheart, I know your hair is curled! Ow! Stop punching me, you crazy bint!"

"Hmph," Luna pulled back, sticking her nose up in the air feigning offense.

"I like it," he told her honestly, "but I prefer it natural."

Together they spent their day in Hogsmeade doing a variety of things, but nothing she hadn't done before. It was a date that was like every other while being entirely unique and special at the same time.

Because Sirius didn't need to take her somewhere special or do extra special romantic things to impress Luna. Being himself was enough. Ordinary was a nice change for her. Growing up as Harry Potter's daughter meant that everyone was always trying to impress her.

Boys who wanted to date her would go to extremes to get her attention. Eventually she started dating Lorcan Scamander because she knew him, she trusted him, and it would keep other boys at a distance.

Sirius Black had no idea of who she truly was. He didn't know that she was famous. He didn't know her family. He liked her for her. That was all she truly wanted. So when she discovered that his only plans for this date were to wander aimlessly around the village, she was ecstatic. The normalcy was the best thing he could have given her.

When they arrived back at the common room, they didn't see any of their friends back yet. First and Second year students were scattered about the room, working on homework, playing games, and chatting. When suddenly, "I THINK I DESERVE TO KNOW!"

The voice belonged to Mary. It was coming from the boys' dormitories. "Er, who's up there?" Luna worriedly asked a small boy.

"Um, the Headboy and his girlfriend."

"Shit," Sirius grabbed Luna's hand and hauled her up the stairs.

"Calm down," Remus was saying, holding his hands up in front of him, "and keep your voice down, Mary, do you want everyone in the common room to know we're arguing?"

"I DON'T CARE! I hope they know what an idiot you are, Lupin!"

Luna smacked the back of Remus's head and asked menacingly, "What the hell did you do, Remus?"

"Nothing!" he protested, being so caught off guard by the unfolding events that he momentarily forgot to shy away from Luna as he'd been doing ever since he had almost bitten her.

This, however, did not go unnoticed by Mary, "And why have you been avoiding Luna lately? Every time she walks into the room you blanch and run away. Did something happen between the two of you?"

"Tell her, Remus," said Sirius sternly, "she deserves to know."

"Oh...my god," Mary slouched down onto Remus's bed, "you did, didn't you? You and Luna shagged."

"No!" Luna squeaked indignantly, "something did happen between Remus and myself but it wasn't anything like that. He's just...embarrassed. Even though he shouldn't be. It was an accident, and I've told him repeatedly that I've forgiven him even though there's nothing for him to be sorry for."

"Nothing to be sorry for?" Remus's face was white, "you could have _died_, you could have been _turned_."

Sirius scoffed, "Do you really think I would have let that happen, Moony? I was there."

"Will somebody please tell me what the bloody hell is going on?" Mary demanded.

"First of all, what were you two arguing about when Sirius and I so gracefully interrupted?"

"We were snogging on his bed, things started getting rather heated, and he stopped! It's one thing to be chivalrous, but it's another thing all together to not shag your willing girlfriend when she's begging for it!"

Sirius waggled his eyebrows at his friend, "You had a bird begging for it, Moony? Blimey, I didn't know you had it in you."

"Bugger off," Remus growled.

"Anyway, we started arguing about it. I'm not trying to pressure him into something if he's not ready for it, but he refuses to tell me why he's not ready for it. That's when you two came in," Mary finished lamely with a roll of her eyes.

Surprising everyone in the room, Luna threw herself onto Remus, tackling him to the floor, locking her legs and arms around him. "Get off!" he cried.

"No! Not until you get something through that thick skull of yours, Remus John Lupin!" Luna sat up so that she was straddling his hips, his hands pinned to his sides by her knees.

"Bloody hell, woman, you're strong."

"Growing up with two older brothers and more cousins than I can count has given me certain advantages," she conceded, "but you need to understand something very important. Remus, you are very special to a lot of people. You're special to James, Sirius, Peter, and also to Lily, Alice, and me. You are most important to Mary. She loves you. We all love you. I don't hold anything against you about what happened that night. You are one of my best friends. I trust you completely. Mary will not hold it against you either. You don't have to be so afraid, Remus, and you sure as hell don't have to carry this burden alone."

"It's not even a burden," added Sirius gently, "we might jokingly refer to it as a problem and most people think of it as a disease, but it's just part of what makes you you. We wouldn't want you any other way, mate."

Remus nodded and they could tell by the look in his eyes that their words had gotten through to him. Luna lifted herself off of him and he sat up, looking directly into Mary's eyes. "I'm a werewolf," he said evenly, "I was bitten as a young boy. I've been a werewolf every year I've been at Hogwarts. During the full moon I go to the Shrieking Shack because that's a safe place for me to transform, away from the school and the village."

"Oh...Merlin..." she breathed. A hand fluttered up to her chest and pressed against her quickly beating heart. "But that still doesn't explain why you don't want to be intimate with me."

Remus's eyes widened, "That's what you're thinking about right now?"

"Well, yeah. You're my boyfriend and I love you. I don't care that you're a werewolf. I wouldn't care if you were a vampire or even a muggle. As long as you love me and you want me, I'm happy."

"Of course I want you," Remus crossed the room to take her into his arms, "I just didn't want to be, er, intimate with you because I have so many worries. If you were to get pregnant, would the child be like me? Werewolves don't usually have children so I wouldn't know. I can never get married, Mary, because married life would be too difficult. You would be an outcast to society and you'd have to lock your husband in the basement every month so he didn't eat your neighbors..."

Mary chuckled. "Remus, you silly prat, why didn't you just talk with me about this at the beginning? First of all, I'm perfectly okay with never getting married or having kids. You are all I want."

They gazed at each other deeply, as if they were truly seeing each other for the first time. At the same moment they leaned into each other and began kissing. Luna smiled smugly as she reached up to tug on Sirius's arm, "We should probably leave them alone now."

Sirius nodded in agreement, grinning wolfishly at Remus and Mary as they began pulling at each other's clothes. "Yeah, and we'll have to warn James and Peter not to come up here for a while, too."

...

_Dear Albus, _

_Since I have decided that I cannot simply call this book a 'diary' or a 'journal' I will address each entry as if I am writing to someone from back home. Starting with you, dear brother. _

_Let me start off by saying that I've no idea what I'm doing anymore. I am in a relationship with Sirius Black, which most of Hogwarts seems to find both shocking and gossip-worthy. Then, of course, there's the issues of me becoming closer friends with so many of the people here._

_What does it really matter if I become friends with them anyway? It's not like they'll ever know the truth, except for Severus. Sometimes I wish I could tell Sirius, but he's better off not knowing, isn't he? If he really loves me. Merlin, a very small part of me can't wait to come home. I miss everyone so much. You, James, mum and dad, all of our crazy cousins. _

_Dumbledore says that I will return home eventually, we just don't know when. Which is fine by me because a large part of me would be happy staying here forever. Although I know that won't happen. Aunt Minnie is in agreement with Dumbledore. She has become a close confidant for me here. _

_I know that if you were to actually read this letter, you'd be worried about how much Severus Snape knows about me, but let me assure you that I find him to be an intelligent enough wizard that he won't let his foreknowledge ruin anything. I trust him. _

_Before you go on about how I should be able to trust James, Lily, Remus, and Sirius as well, let me just say that I do. However, the more people who know the truth then the more people I put in danger. I've been here for over two months now and nobody aside from Severus has figured out my secret. _

_I think that I might eventually tell Sirius just because it's killing me to keep this secret from him. But how can you just say to the man you love, "The reason I know everything about you is because I'm from the future."? He would think I was mad. Do you think I should tell him then just Obliviate him before Dumbledore sends me back to my own time? That's something to think about. I have months to figure it out, as Dumbledore says that the Time Turners aren't close to being finished yet._

_Merlin! If I graduate here in June, finishing my seventh year, will I have to repeat my seventh year again in the future? I hope not. Maybe my NEWT results will still be on file then. _

_Can you believe it's already November 4th? Sirius's birthday. Oh! Speaking of which, I'd better go! I told James, Remus, and Peter that I would meet up with them to set up his surprise party. _

_Your Loving Sister,_

_Lily Luna_

_..._

Luna skipped down the stairs to the common room happily to join her friends. Sirius was currently serving detention with McGonagall for not completing his last three homework assignments.

That gave them plenty of time to get the decorations up, sneak food in from the kitchens, and get dressed up themselves. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that Professor McGonagall is not aware of this party?" Lily Evans grumbled as she used her wand to drape red and gold streamers around the fireplace.

"That would be correct, love," James said casually. Whenever he said anything to Lily, his voice took on a love-struck-head-in-the-clouds tone that made everyone in the vicinity roll their eyes. Except Lily, who would blush and smile.

"Then shouldn't we cast a few charms so she can't hear anything?" Luna suggested sagely while she arranged food on a platter.

"Already been taken care of!" Piped up Peter, who Luna had been doing her best to avoid during her stay here, but it was unavoidable as he was close to her friends.

"Wormtail," griped James as if he'd revealed an incriminating secret.

Remus sighed and rubbed his forehead, "What did you do, James? Or do I even want to know?"

"No need to give me that look, mate, it's just...I...erm...might have put a simple sleeping draught in her tea. Of course she's monitoring Padfoot in detention right now, but she when returns to her room, she'll drink it and be right to sleep for the rest of the night."

"James!" Lily squeaked. Everyone prepared themselves for a rant from the law-abiding Head Girl, but instead were surprised when she asked with admiration, "How did you get into her private quarters?"

Luna burst into laughter, shaking her head slightly. Unbidden, tears welled up in her eyes at the affection she felt for the special people in this room. Hiding them behind her sleeve, she concentrated on decorating the elaborate cake. The cake was the Gryffindor Crest.

James bopped her on the nose with his forefinger, "I'll never reveal my secrets, sweetheart! Just rest assured that we won't be getting in trouble for the events of this evening."

"I just don't understand why you couldn't have simply cast a few charms to keep her from hearing our party. What if there was an emergency in the castle and she couldn't wake up?" Lily replied, batting her eyelashes up at him.

"Because she has wards up around her quarters to prevent us from doing that," James said with a frown, "we found that out the hard way in fifth year when we pulled that prank on Gibbons involving the Pixies we snuck into the common room. McGonagall yelled at us for over an hour. During which time, she let slip that our charms couldn't prevent her from hearing things that go on in the common room."

"He's coming!" Alice jumped in through the portrait hole, panting lightly, as she had just run all the way from the Transfiguration classroom, where she was keeping a look out.

Everyone gathered around the cake as Luna put the finishing touches on it. The moment Sirius stepped into the room, everyone yelled, "SURPRISE!" Noise makers went off, fireworks exploded, and confetti rained down on everyone.

Sirius was grinning from ear to ear as he took in the scene before him. Luna was the first to approach him, kissing him on the cheek and whispering, "Happy birthday!"

Each person present for his birthday party took their turns wishing him a happy birthday and the party really got started. "This is brilliant," Sirius kept saying, "best surprise birthday party ever, mate," he added to James.

"Well, it's not every day that your best friend turns eighteen," James had said.

"Isn't seventeen the more important birthday? Why the hell didn't I get a surprise party last year?" Sirius joked.

"Honestly, Padfoot? You think this year out does last year's surprise? For the love of Merlin, last year we snuck out of the castle and Apparated, _illegally_ I might add, to that muggle place where we bought you that motorcycle. Then Peter gave you the idea of enchanting it to fly, so we flew it back to Hogwarts, parked it on the roof, and took turns driving it off of the edge of the Astronomy Tower all night!"

"Bloody hell," Luna breathed with wide eyes, "you four are complete idiots."

"To be fair, Moony didn't want to. We had to get him quite drunk before he agreed to fly on a motorcycle that Sirius and I enchanted," James defended.

"How did you all fit on a single motorcycle?" asked Mary as she lounged casually on Remus's lap, running her fingers up and down his forearm.

"Uncomfortably," Sirius said gravely as he tipped his glass of butterbeer toward her.

As everyone broke off slowly into individual conversations, Luna leaned into Sirius and asked quietly, "What makes this birthday better than last year's?"

"You," he replied instantly. "Seeing as how it is my birthday, you wouldn't happen to have any other plans in store for me, would you, love? Perhaps any that include just the two of us and a lot less clothing?"

Luna grinned unashamedly, "Unfortunately, no. Sorry, Black, but it's going to take a lot more than an eighteenth birthday party to get into this skirt."

He chuckled lightly, "You know I wouldn't pressure you into anything you're uncomfortable with," he murmured this against her cheek and feeling his hot breath tickle her neck and ear did nothing to assist her control.

If only she could tell him. If only she could look him in the eye and admit, "_The reason I haven't slept with you yet is because I'm so afraid of becoming even more attached to you. I'm so afraid of taking our relationship even further just to have it all ripped away from me at any moment."_

"Thanks, love," was all she said.

"What are you thanking him for?" asked James curiously.

"For not pressuring me into sex," said Luna. Her words made Lily and Alice blush, but the rest of her audience smirk.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Mary spoke up, "James and Lily are shagging, Remus and I are shagging, even Alice has sex with Frank whenever they get the opportunity-"

"Mary!" Alice's blush deepened. Luna was forcefully reminded of her Uncle Neville.

"I just want it to be special," Luna lied easily.

"Trust me, no matter where it happens or how it happens, if you're with the right person, it will be special. James and I did it for the first time in the boys' dormitory."

"So did Remus and I."

"Frank and I were innocently wandering the castle after hours, but we heard someone approaching us," Alice wouldn't look up from the floor as she told her tale, but still continued telling it, "we were almost caught by Professor Slughorn, so we hid in the Transfiguration classroom..."

"You didn't!" Lily squealed in laughter.

"Yes," Alice grimaced in embarrassment, "our first time was on McGonagall's desk."

Everyone erupted into laughter, "Oh, Alice," James was wiping tears from his eyes, "you are my hero, love. Who knew you had it in you? Our shy little Alice!"

"That's our new goal," said Sirius only partially joking as he addressed Luna, "to do it somewhere more risque than McGonagall's desk."

"I can think of a few places," Luna waggled her eyebrows at him.

"See! That's what I'm talking about! You two obviously aren't shy around each other. Neither of you are virgins! You've both admitted to being in love! Go shag already!" Mary made a motion with her hands as if to shoo them up to the dormitory.

"Technically, I told Sirius I loved him. Then he invited me to Hogsmeade with him," Luna corrected.

"Actions speak louder than words," Remus mused.

"Is that why you haven't slept with me yet? Because I haven't verbalized my feelings for you?" Sirius demanded.

"No," Luna was giggling, "that's not it."

"Damn, if that had been the reason then I would currently be screaming my love for you to everyone in this castle."

As everyone laughed and continued on with the party, nobody noticed Luna distancing herself. Nobody noticed as she pulled away from the group, lingered by the refreshments, then quietly made her way up the staircase and went to bed. She didn't know if she could be around so much joy and life with the dark foreknowledge she had.

...

An hour after falling asleep, she was woken up as something large and furry jumped onto her bed. "Merlin's beard, you scared me," Luna's voice was thick from sleep as she groggily took in the giant dog now occupying the majority of her bed.

Sirius morphed back into his human self and grinned at her, "Why did you sneak up here away from my party?"

"How did you get up here?" she countered a question with a question.

"Male humans aren't allowed up the staircase, but male _animals_ are a different story. How can Orion get up and down the stairs? He's a boy, you know." Sirius scratched the cat behind the ears as he always slept curled up on Luna's pillow by her head.

"You are something else, Sirius Black."

"You didn't answer my question. You didn't even say goodnight. Just disappeared."

"There was too much happy," she answered vaguely.

"That's barmy."

"It's the truth. You were all having such a wonderful time, and I was tired and feeling kind of homesick. I didn't want to bring everyone down with my mood."

"I missed you," he whispered as he brushed his lips against her hair. "I always miss you when you're not around. Baby, are you crying?"

"No," she lied as tears spilled from her big brown eyes.

"Does this have to do with your secret? You're still worried because you're not sure, as you put it, 'how long you're going to be here'?"

"You're sharp, Black," she sighed.

"'Course I am."

"Arrogant, too."

"Mmm," his mouth was occupied with placing hot wet kisses up and down her neck.

"Happy birthday, Sirius," she reached down under her bed and pulled out a box. Pulling away from her, he sat up and timidly took it in his hands. Bestowing her with a genuine smile, he opened it.

"A book filled with blank parchment?" he asked with a frown, unsure if he understood the meaning of the gift.

"I want you to write in it as often as you can," she was crying again, "write as though you're writing letters to me. So that one day, far in the future, I can read them and remember." She had gotten the idea from her own journal.

"Are you losing your memory? Is that your secret? Is it some sort of mental disorder? I've caught you saying contradictory things and so much of what you say doesn't make sense...but then I reckon that wouldn't explain how you know so many things you shouldn't know," he was thinking aloud.

"What sorts of contradictory things have I said?"

"Well, you told me once that you had a younger brother, Al, who was too young to come to Hogwarts yet. And that he, along with your muggle aunt, were the only family you had. Yet when you tackled Remus in the dormitory you told him you had two older brothers and many cousins."

"Oh. Well, I'm not touched in the head. Or losing my memory."

Sirius sighed, "But you're not going to tell me which is the truth either."

"Not now. Perhaps some day. Let's not talk about that, please. Talk about something else."

Obliging, Sirius thought for a moment then blurted out the question that had been running circles around his mind, "Was Mary telling the truth when she said that you weren't a virgin?"

Luna bit her lower lip, remembering her first time with Lorcan Scamander. She loved Lorcan, she really did, but it wasn't like this. With Lorcan, it was a comfortable friendship that had slowly morphed into love. The only reason they had broken up was because he wanted to travel the world and Luna didn't want to leave her family.

But this, with Sirius, this was passion, raw need, all-consuming love. She didn't just want him, she wanted all of him, she wanted to permanently attach herself to him and never let go. She finally understood what everyone had said about finding her other half, because that's what Sirius was to her. He fit her perfectly in every way. They complimented each other in ways she never thought would be possible. They were two halves to one whole.

Finally, she said, "Yes, but I wish I hadn't. If I had known that I would meet you some day, Sirius Black, then I would have waited for you."

Sirius nodded, he had expected that answer. The girl in his arms was beyond gorgeous; he couldn't blame a bloke for bedding her. "It doesn't matter to me, Lu-Lu. But just so you know, she was wrong about me. I am a virgin."

"What?" Luna sat up abruptly in shock.

"I encourage rumors of my promiscuous ways, but they're not true. Before you ask why, I'll tell you. I promote the rumors because I have an image that I like to keep. I'm still a virgin because I have a hard time trusting people. Giving myself to someone else physically is something that would make me vulnerable in a way and the idea of being vulnerable in any way is abhorrent to me. Therefore, I've been waiting for a girl who I trust absolutely. One that I love," he traced her jaw with his fingertips.

"You...love me?" instead of sounding happy she sounded tortured. As if his confession hurt her to the very depths of her soul.

"Yes. I love you."

She fell asleep not long after his declaration, in between their kisses and whispers of sweet nothings that lovers often shared. Sirius stretched out beside her, wondering how he got so lucky to have this witch in his life and wondering what it would be like when she was finally ready to take the next step with him and become intimate with him.

Even more, he wondered when she would confide her secret in him. Because as much as he trusted her, it bothered him that she didn't trust him an equal amount. Deciding to worry about these things later, he reached an arm under her pillow to fluff it up, and his hand hit something.

Tentatively, he pulled out a small diary that was similar to the one she had given him for his birthday. Opening it he discovered that she'd only written on the first two pages. Feeling simultaneously guilty and curious, he pulled up his wand and whispered, "_Lumos_," so he could read them.

He skipped the first page, because the title on the second page caught his attention. It was addressed, "Dear Albus," was she writing a letter to a bloke? Wasn't Albus the name of her brother? Had she been lying? Why hadn't she sent the letter? With trepidation, he read the words she had inked on the page.

The letter was short, sweet, and so very revealing. One by one sentences, words, and phrases caught his attention. He unconsciously began forming a list of facts gleaned from this journal entry. First, Albus was her brother. Second, she had conflicted feelings about making friends. Third, her parents were very much alive. Fourth, somehow knowing her secret had given Snape 'foreknowledge.' Foreknowledge of what?

Sirius shook his head as he kept reading. Maybe Luna really was touched in the head, because she spoke as if her brother knew all of them personally. Then the bomb was dropped. He re-read the sentence several times, "_But how can you just say to the man you love, "The reason I know everything about you is because I'm from the future."?"_


	11. Jealousy

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

**Warning: Sexual situations and language in this chapter.**

…**.**

Luna was sleeping soundly, her bum pressed into Sirius's hip, when in her unconscious state she decided that she would rather be facing him and cuddled into his side. She rolled over with a low moan, only to have a bright light hit her directly in the face.

Sirius was still staring with wide eyes at the journal when Luna gave a groan and woke up blinking. "Sirius?" she mumbled as she realized the light was coming from the tip of his wand. Then she saw the book he held in his hands."That's not yours!"

Her tiny hands snatched at it, but Sirius held it firmly. "When are you from?"

"Excuse me?" she stopped attempting to wrench it from his grasp as he had obviously read enough.

"I asked, _when_ are you from?" he tossed the book aside, no longer curious at all about what the first page contained; the second had held all of the answers he thought he needed.

She licked her lips nervously before replying quietly, "About fifty years from now."

"Bloody fucking hell," Sirius ran a hand nervously through his hair. "This explains so much. I can't believe you weren't going to tell me!"

"I was considering it," she defended.

"Yeah, I read that bit," he growled.

"Did you, um, read _everything _I wrote?"

"Just your letter to your brother. I skipped the first page because the letter caught my attention."

"Thank Merlin," she breathed. Sirius knowing that she was from the future was something she could handle. But Sirius knowing that she was James's granddaughter? That was something else all together. Would Sirius still want her after that or would he be too disgusted by the idea?She didn't want to find out.

"I'm still having a hard time piecing everything together, Lu-Lu," relief spread through her at the use of her nickname. If he was calling her pet names, he couldn't be too mad at her, right?

"I...might be willing to fill in a few of the blanks," she offered in a small voice. Slowly, something else was building inside of her. This vibrating excitement that had her wanting to jump up and down screaming in joy that she didn't have to hide this from him any longer.

"Do you know us in the future? Blimey, please, for the sake of my sanity, do _not_ tell me that you know seventy-year-old-me!"

Luna giggled and opted for honesty, "No, I do not know any of you in the future. Not personally, anyway."

"Then how the hell do you know so much about us? The map, our nicknames, our animagi forms..." he trailed off.

"You're all a bit well known."

"Famous?" he snorted, "don't tell James that, his head is already inflated enough. Alright, tell me then. How did we become so famous?"

"You're taking this all rather well, you know. When Severus found out, he had a wand to my throat in about two seconds."

"Yeah, well, that's a Slytherin, isn't it? Always thinks the worst of everyone. But me, I'm a Gryffindor to the core, babe. We love a good adventure."

"Erm, let me start off by saying that I'm not going to tell you everything. I can't. If you tell someone their future, that knowledge automatically changes the future, you know?"

"Or possibly it solidifies it," Sirius countered as he snuggled back into the pillows and began tracing her jaw with his fingers.

"What the hell are you on about, Black?"

"Time travel is steeped in too much theory and not enough fact to really know a whole lot. What if by telling someone their future, you make it unavoidable? If by speaking it, you write it in stone so-to-speak? If you tell me, it has to happen."

She shook her head back and forth vehemently, "I don't think it works like that. At least, not with everyone. Like, for example, if I were to tell you that tomorrow in Herbology you're going to be strangled to death by Devil's Snare, you'd skip Herbology, wouldn't you?"

"I suppose..."

"That would change the future!"

"So hold on, are you saying that I should skip Herbology tomorrow?"

She laughed and kissed him on the cheek, "No. It was just an example. I'll tell you what I can, but it's not much. Order of the Phoenix. Ever heard of it?"

Sirius nodded his head gravely, "Of course. James and I were planning on joining as soon as we graduate."

"You two do join. Along with Lily, Remus, Mary, Alice, Frank, Peter, and many others. Eventually the Order prevails and Voldemort is defeated-"

Sirius interrupted her to fist pump the air and give an exited, "Yes!"

"That's how you become famous. The most prominent members of The Order have books written about them in the future."

He gave this some thought before commenting, "If you've read books about me, my picture must be on the books. I bet I'm still devilishly good looking, even at the age of nearly seventy, yeah?"

Luna forced a smile and whispered, "Absolutely, love. Handsome as ever." In truth, pictures of him were in many books she'd read concerning the war and Voldemort's rise to power. However, none of them had been taken after the age of thirty-five, as that was the age at which he'd died.

"So, essentially, when you go back to your own time, I'm going to be fifty years older than you?" he was frowning now, the adventure and excitement becoming less enchanting by the minute.

"Yes," she hesitated, "you would be."

"Would be? Luna I can tell there's something you're not telling me. Just...be honest with me, love," it was the tenderness in his voice that made her reach a decision.

Looking directly into those deep grey eyes, she said, "You died before I was born. I won't say when or how, exactly. All I will tell you is that you were fighting Death Eaters when you were struck down. Don't ask me anything else," she held up her hand in a motion for him to be quiet, "I won't tell you anything else about it."

Silence followed this pronouncement. She watched as different emotions played across his face before he admitted, "I'm almost a bit glad. I can't imagine seeing you again in the future being an old man and you still being a young woman."

"Sirius Orion Black!" she smacked his bare chest and wondered vaguely when he'd removed his shirt. "Don't you ever say such a thing! I would rather have you as an old man than not at all! I can't...I can't bear the thought of returning to a time and place in which you don't exist!"

"Is there anything else you can tell me? About the fall of Voldemort or the fates of my friends?"

Luna was shaking her head again. Sirius sighed and let his head drop back. "This doesn't change anything between us, does it?" she hated to ask the question, but would have hated it even more if she hadn't.

"Of course not," he looked at her with his eyebrows drawn together. "Why would it? I love you, you crazy witch. I don't always know why, but I do. You're about fifty years younger than me, you infuriate me more than anyone else I know, and you're a bloody tease. But I love you. How long do we have together?"

"I don't know. Dumbledore has been working with the Department of Mysteries on devices called Time Turners that are meant to send me back to my own time, but so far the project has been very difficult. He told me that I will probably be here through graduation."

Sirius sighed and held her body even closer to his, "So soon?"

"Let's cherish the time we do have, okay? I mean, with Voldemort and his Death Eaters running rampant everyone should be cherishing all of the time they can with their loved ones."

"You make it sound like it's going to get worse. But how could it possibly get any worse than what it already is?"

"Oh, Sirius. It gets so much worse. You've no idea."

"Then you're right, and I just need to focus on what's in my arms right now."

...

"How the fuck did you get in here, Black?" Luna woke up the next morning with her face buried in Sirius's toned chest. It was warm, solid, and sexy...without conscious thought, she kissed it sloppily before lifting her head to see Mary standing beside the bed scowling.

"Morning, MacDonald," said Sirius cheerily.

"You could have at least closed the curtains!" she scolded as she tugged on the deep red drapes that were tied back, allowing everyone in the room a full view of Luna sleeping on top of her boyfriend.

"It's not like we were shagging," said Luna grumpily as she pulled a pillow over her head, "isn't it too early to be up?"

"Charms starts in about ten minutes actually," Lily corrected as she entered the room looking as pristine as ever.

"Where were all of you all night?"

"After you and Sirius disappeared up to our dorm, we were afraid of interrupting so Alice, Mary, and I all camped in the boys room. I slept in James's bed with him, Mary slept in Remus's bed with him, and Alice slept in your vacant bed, Black. She was worried about the sheets being clean so we had a house-elf come up and change them."

"That was probably for the best," agreed Sirius.

Lily made a disgusted noise and continued collecting her books into her bag before slinging it over her should. "Why aren't you two scrambling to make it to class on time?"

"It's Charms," Luna and Sirius answered at the exact same time then giggled.

"You can't just skive off classes whenever you feel like it!"

"Oi, Evans, go flaunt your Head Girl position to some First Years and stop wasting that stick-in-the-arse tone of voice on us. Luna and I can do whatever the fuck we please."

"Fine! But when Professor Flitwick asks me if I know where you are, I'm telling him the truth!"

"You do that, love," Sirius said unconcernedly.

In an angry huff, Lily stormed from the dorm, quickly followed by Mary and Alice. "Now that they're gone, would you like for me to show you the way that I wanted to wake you up this morning?" There was a seductive caress to her words that made Sirius's already hard member twitch.

Without waiting for a reply, Luna slid down his body and Sirius moaned while watching her. When she reached his trousers, she undid the snap, slid the zipper down, and motioned for him to lift his hips. He obliged, and helped her wiggle the restricting garment down to his ankles.

"I might not be ready for sex," she said in apology, "but after everything that we discussed last night, there's something that I would very much love to do for you."

He couldn't take his eyes off of her as her hand wrapped firmly around his cock and gave it a slow stroke. His eyes fought to close in pleasure, but he wouldn't let them. Merlin, if he kept watching this he wasn't going to last very long.

Both of her hands were now on him, one stroking his balls while the other moved up to the tip of his cock, her palm gliding across the liquid that was accumulating there and spreading it down his length. His breath was coming in pants now and every few pants a moan would escape him.

The first time he let his eyes slip closed, just for a moment, he jerked in surprise at a new sensation. His eyes snapped wide open in time to see her lips gliding all the way down to the base of his shaft. "Oh fucking hell," he growled as his hands tangled into her hair.

When she started swirling her tongue around him, and slowly pulling up while sucking, his hips involuntarily jerked up, but just slightly. Restraining himself was difficult, but he didn't want to just start thrusting with abandon into her mouth no matter how badly he wanted to.

Luna removed him from her mouth, smirked up at him, and said coyly, "You don't need to hold back. I want to see you lose control."

When she lowered her mouth to him again, they kept eye contact until he had to throw his head back into the pillows. He had imagined being in this situation many times before, it was true, but this was so thoroughly beyond anything he imagined that he couldn't even think straight. It didn't take long before he had obeyed her wish and was thrusting into her mouth, lifting his hips off of the bed with every thrust, trying to still be gentle with her, "I fucking love you," he grunted as he sped up.

She couldn't reply as her mouth was busy, but when she sucked extra hard, he knew it meant that she had appreciated his words. It was when she simultaneously squeezed his balls and sucked hard that his orgasm washed over him.

He lifted his head up enough to watch as she swallowed every last drop he spilled down her throat and even licked his cock clean for good measure. "How was that?" she asked as she sat up onto her knees.

Her hair was decidedly mused from having his hands fisted into it, her cheeks were flushed with heat, and she was panting a bit herself, her well-endowed chest rising and falling rapidly, peeking up from her low tank top. "Fucking fantastic," he sat up and captured her lips in a kiss. It didn't bother him to taste himself on her tongue as he thought it would. Oppositely, it reminded him of what she'd just done and turned him on again.

Noticing the bulge pressed against her leg growing larger again, she pulled back from the kiss with a chuckle, "Let's get dressed before you get carried away again."

With matching smirks, they kissed one last time quickly, then scrambled out of the bed to start the day.

_..._

"Well, when do we have detention?" Sirius asked Lily Evans as he and Luna joined their friends at the Gryffindor table for lunch.

"Luckily for both of you, Flitwick didn't ask where you were," Lily replied without looking at him.

"He really did," whispered James to Sirius, "Lily lied for you."

"Aw, Evans, you really do care," Sirius teased. Lily rolled her eyes but couldn't repress the small smile that spread across her lips.

...

_Dear James,_

_Sometimes I wonder if it had been you with me that day instead of Albus if this wouldn't have happened at all. Would we have fought over the Time Turner? What if you had won and come back to this time frame? You would have ruined everything if it had been you. Good thing it was me._

_I'm just teasing, you know. I miss you so much. But sometimes it's like you're here with me because you are so similar to Grandad. The main difference is that you have the Weasley temper and Grandad is surprisingly patient, but the resemblance in personalities is still uncanny._

_It's almost December and let me tell you, I admire you so much more now for all of the NEWTs you earned. Seventh year is a killer. Sometimes it drives me crazy that Grandad and Sirius don't even study and they are in the top of the class. I'm right behind them, of course, but I actually open a book occasionally. _

_Sirius knows that I'm from the future. I didn't tell him myself, he read the letter I wrote to Albus. He took it shockingly well. Ever since he discovered that I'm from the future he hasn't left my side. Trying to get in as much time with me as possible I suppose. Regulus Black keeps glaring at me and a few of his Death Eater cronies have attempted to lure me into an abandoned corridor once or twice but I'm not concerned. I can handle myself, and even if I couldn't, Sirius is there every time I turn around._

_Normally too much attention from a guy makes me want to hex him, but I can't tell you how happy it makes me every time I see his face or hear his voice. Merlin I have it bad. Have you ever felt like this before, big brother? I hope so, everyone deserves to experience a love like this at least once in his or her lifetime._

_Love,_

_Lily Luna_

Luna had taken to signing everything with her first and middle name because everyone here called her Luna but everyone at home called her Lily. It had been strange at first, but now it was just natural.

As she closed her journal and tucked it safely back under her pillow, she heard Lily call up the stairs, "Luna! Are you up there? Can you come down here please?" With a groan, she slid off of her bed and skipped down the stairs to find Professor McGonagall standing in the center of the common room holding a clipboard.

"I assume, Ms. Granger, that you are staying here for Christmas break?"

"Yes, Ma'm," she replied without hesitation. This response got her several strange looks from her friends, but Sirius frowned in understanding.

"That's everyone," said McGonagall as she glanced over the list once more and left.

"Why are you staying at Hogwarts for Christmas?" asked Alice with concern.

"Yeah, won't your aunt and brother miss you?" Lily was frowning at her friend.

"Nah," Luna scrunched up her nose and shook her head, "I already wrote and told them that I wanted to stay here for break. It's hard for me to be there, at my aunt's house, with my brother. I miss them but I can't be in that house. I think about my parents too much." The lie fell from her tongue naturally.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Lily mumbled.

"It's fine. I really am okay as long as I don't have to be there."

"Then come home with me," James looked shocked at the words he spoke. He hadn't even invited Lily to his house yet and here he was extending the invitation to someone who he'd just met a few months previously.

"I couldn't," Luna shook her head immediately in denial. A part of her wanted to accept the offer so badly. To meet his family would be such an exhilarating experience. But she also knew how that would look to Lily, who had her own family to go home to.

James, in an attempt to save his own skin as well as convince Luna to not stay at Hogwarts alone for Christmas, said, "It's just that Sirius lives with me and I know he'd love for you to join us."

Sirius was looking curiously from his best mate to his girlfriend, wondering what the hell was going on. He knew James well enough to know when he was trying to cover something up. His expression was too innocent and his voice was just a touch higher than normal. Luna chewed on her bottom lip in contemplation before asking gently, "Sirius? Do you want me there?"

"Of course!" He had been so concerned with what was going on in James's head that her question had caught him off guard. "I always want you with me. If James hadn't invited you, I would have stayed here with you."

Lily Evans was still watching the scene unfold with a look of hurt on her face. James had been so quick to extend an invitation to this newcomer. She hadn't felt jealous in months, not since Luna had confessed her feelings for Sirius, but what if there really was something to be jealous of?

"I'm sure Lily would like having another girl around so she doesn't have to put up with both of us by herself," Sirius jumped immediately into 'save James's arse' mode when he caught the look of jealousy on Lily's face.

"What are you talking about, Black?" snapped Lily.

"Oh fuck, did I ruin the surprise?" Sirius was a perfect actor. He sounded sincere as he looked between James and Lily, "you haven't asked her yet, have you?"

"I haven't found the right moment," James said as he caught on to what Sirius was doing. "Way to fuck it up, Padfoot."

"Sorry, mate," Sirius clapped him on the shoulder.

"Lily, love," James took both of her hands in one of his and asked romantically, "Would you please come and spend Christmas at Potter Manor with my family?"

"Potter Manor?" Lily blanched in nervous excitement. "Er, yeah. I reckon that would be nice," a slow blush was creeping up her neck.

"Excellent!" James kissed her cheek briefly before spinning around and saying to his friends, "Shall we go in search of Christmas presents for our women?"

"You can't leave the castle now. Not only is it past curfew, but it's not even a Hogsmeade day!" Lily seemed to scold them out of reflex more than actual conviction.

"Really, Evans?" Sirius sighed as if he was disappointed in her. "The Head Boy is even coming with us. You wouldn't get James into trouble, would you? He would probably withhold sex from you if you got him thrown into detention."

"Nah, I wouldn't," James told her with a wink, "you know I'll shag you any time you want. Even if you do keep me worn out all the time. It's quite flattering, really, that you can't get enough of me no matter how many orgasms I give you."

"Out!" The light blush on her neck turned into a scarlet hue covering her entire face. "Go buy us Christmas presents. Mine had better be amazing enough to make up for the embarrassment you just caused me, Potter!"

"See you in the morning, Evans," he kissed her soundly on the lips, ruffled her hair, and ducked out of the portrait hole. Peter followed him, even though he didn't have a girl to shop for, he was always automatically included in all of the Marauder's plans.

"Don't listen to James, we won't be gone all night," Remus murmured to Mary as he held her face gently in his hands.

"When you get back, I'll be waiting. In your bed. Naked. Maybe I'll even start without you," she ran one of her hands down his back until it rested on his arse. Remus moaned, kissed her throat swiftly, and left before she talked him into staying.

"What's so funny?" Sirius asked as he looked down at his girlfriend who was shaking with laughter.

"The difference between Mary and Lily is hilarious. Lily is always so shy and private. Then there's Mary, who just admitted to the entire common room that she was going to go masturbate in her boyfriend's bed until he returned. I find it amusing."

"And which way are you, exactly?" he mused as he ran his fingers through her hair. As they weren't in a sexual relationship, he really wasn't sure how she would act around other people once they finally reached that point.

"Somewhere in between, but definitely more like Mary."

Sirius gave a growl of appreciation and nipped at her ear. "I can't wait to find out. See you soon, Lu-Lu." He turned to leave, but Luna grabbed his arm, spun him back around, and launched herself at him.

She locked her arms and legs around him as he lost his balance and they toppled to the floor. A few nearby fourth years squealed and moved out of the way as Sirius and Luna began rolling around the common room floor snogging heatedly.

"Told you he got distracted," Remus said with a laugh to James as they came back into the room for their friend.

"S'not my fault," Sirius grunted with his lips on her collarbone as he tugged at the collar of her shirt, pulling it toward her shoulder to expose more of her skin to his wandering mouth. "She attacked me."

"What am I going to do with you three?" Peter threw up his hands in exasperation.

James bent down, wrapped his arms around Luna's middle, and plucked her off of Sirius. Luna whimpered sadly at the loss of contact. Remus helped his friend up off the floor and Sirius straightened his robes, smirked at his girl, then disappeared with his friends out of Gryffindor Tower.

"Alright, Potter, what the fuck is going on?" Sirius didn't waste any time in confronting him.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't be an idiot, James, it doesn't become you," he growled. Remus and Peter started a conversation of their own, letting the other two work out their own problems.

"I know you, mate," James shrugged nonchalantly, "you wouldn't invite guests to my house without asking me first. So I extended the invitation for you. The bird had just confessed that she couldn't go home because she was still grieving her dead parents. Despite what most of the school thinks, I _do _have a heart, Padfoot."

"You panicked," he snarled, "I saw the look on your face, Prongs. You hadn't meant to ask her, it just slipped out. Tell me now and tell me honestly if you have any feelings for Luna."

He took a shaky breath, "Not in the way you're worried about. I feel...protective of her. I don't know how to explain it, so don't ask me. I know that I've only known her for a few months, but I feel like she's my sister. I have absolutely no romantic interest in her, but I feel compelled to take care of her."

Sirius considered this. Could this possibly have anything to do with her secret? Could James, somehow, sense that she was lost in time? It would explain his urge to look after her. James had always been prone to taking in strays. Peter was a prime example of that. James Potter was more of a mother hippogriff than they teased Moony of being.

"Alright. I know you wouldn't lie to me. I'm glad you asked her. I'll love having her around for Christmas," _it might be our only one together_.

"I know. Thanks for helping me with Lily. I owe you for that. She looked ready to hex my bollocks off when I asked Luna to come to my house for Christmas."

"Are you two done arguing then?" Remus inquired.

"We never argue," they threw their arms around each other's shoulders, "We just occasionally need to straighten things out."

Peter and Remus rolled their eyes at each other but didn't comment.

...

Luna didn't know how much longer she could hold out. Jealousy surged in her whenever she heard Mary, Alice, and Lily talking about the sex they were having with their boyfriends. It still baffled her that Sirius could be so accepting of the fact that she was from the future.

A part of her would feel guilty about taking something that was so important to him when she couldn't even promise him tomorrow let alone a lifetime. Merlin she wanted to. She wanted to promise him that she would never leave him. That they would be together forever. But that was impossible.

Mary hadn't been lying to Remus. As soon as the boys had left, she'd raced up to the dormitory and got ready. She did her hair, applied make-up, and pulled on a sexy little number that she'd bought specifically for Remus's viewing pleasure. It was a see-through black corset with a patching pair of panties, thigh-high stockings, and slinky black heels.

"You look smashing," Luna told her sincerely, doing her best to repress the jealousy she felt.

"Thanks. Do you think you could go with me up there? I'm not good with Disillusionment Charms and I obviously can't be seen running through the common room like this."

"You'd give the First Years heart attacks," agreed Alice.

"Although all of the boys would love you," Lily said.

"Yes, I'll go with you. Here, hold still." A few minutes later, both girls were in the boys' dormitory, lounging on the beds of their respective boyfriends, chatting while waiting for the boys to return.

A while later, tired of waiting, Luna slid off of the black satin sheets and opened the trunk at the foot of the bed. "Don't mind if I stay, do you? After all, I'm sure Peter will stay in here tonight. You and Remus will cast Silencing Charms around the bed, right?"

"Yes, of course. You and Sirius can stay. It honestly doesn't bother me nearly as much as it bothers Remus, but something tells me that when he sees me in this, he wouldn't care if Dumbledore was in the room."

Luna laughed while changing her clothes. She pirouetted in front of the mirror once she was clad in a pair of Sirius's blue boxers and a black t-shirt. "Despite whatever Remus told you, I wouldn't be surprised if they kept him out all night. I'm going to try to get some sleep before they return. Don't forget to cast those Silencing Charms when he starts ravishing you!"

Still giggling, both girls curled up under the covers of the beds they were in, and Luna fell asleep while Mary waited up for her lover.

As it turned out, she didn't have to wait long. Only about half an hour after Luna's breathing had deepened into sleep, the boys came bumbling into the room, talking loudly. Luna woke with a moan and sat up rubbing her eyes.

Mary was laying on her back on Remus's bed, propped up on her elbows behind her, with her head tipped back slightly, and her ankles crossed daintily, licking her lips.

"Bloody hell, MacDonald! I thought you were joking!" James gasped as he looked her up and down in appreciation. Sirius clapped a hand over James's eyes while he averted his gaze to his own bed where his eyes widened as they caught sight of Luna.

"Stop standing there like a prat, Remus, and go to the girl!" Sirius gave him a gentle shove and Remus stumbled his way over to the bed. Once he reached it, he pulled all of the curtains closed, said a few Charms, and disappeared behind the deep red drapes.

Peter hurried to change into his pajamas before extracting his Transfiguration textbook from his bag and climbing into bed. James mumbled something about the girls' dormitory and disappeared back down the staircase. Sirius openly ogled the girl in his bed as the duvet slipped down to reveal that she was wearing one of his shirts.

He sauntered over to her, dropping his cloak as he walked, untucking his button-up shirt from his trousers, until he reached the foot of the bed. With her watching intently, he slowly undid the buttons on his shirt, shrugged out of it, and said teasingly, "Should I put on some music that would be appropriate to strip to?"

She barely managed to drag her eyes way from his muscled torso to smirk at him. "Maybe someday. But how about tonight you just join me?" His hands skillfully undid his own belt, unsnapped the button on his trousers, slipped the zipper down and dragged the jeans down his legs, kicking them to the side along with his socks and shoes.

Once he was in his boxers, he bent his knees and sprung at her. In a fit of giggles, his body collided with hers and he smothered her laughter with his mouth. He flicked his wand with a few hastily cast spells. The curtains snapped shut around them and the Silencing Charms were in place. "No sex," she mumbled.

He groaned in disappointment but said nothing, opting to continue kissing her instead. "You'll tell me when you're ready?" he asked.

"Of course. You'll be the first to know."

He heard the hesitation in her voice and pulled back to frown down at her. "What is it?"

"It's just...I don't know if I'll ever be ready. Sirius, you've waited this long to have sex because it's something special to you. I guess I would feel awful if I took your virginity then was gone the next day without you ever seeing me again."

"That's the thing about virginity, isn't it?" he rolled over to lie on his side, facing her, as he stroked her cheek lovingly. "I can give it to whoever I see fit. Unlike you, Lu-Lu, I am ready. I understand the consequences. I know that a time will come when you have to leave me. Even though I'm not exactly okay with that, I do accept it."

"I love you," she told him sadly.

"I love you, too."

"Okay," she expelled a breath of pent-up air, "then I think I'm ready. But I still want to make this special. Not just for you, but for both of us. Because, Merlin, Sirius, you make me so nervous and excited that I really do feel like it's my first time all over again."

He looked stunned, "You're ready...now?"

"Well, not right now. But in general, yes, I am."

"Why not tonight?" he asked as he dipped his head down to leave a trail of kisses from her ear to her shoulder.

Trying hard to concentrate when he was kissing her that way, she answered groggily, "Er, because, um, Remus and Mary are shagging, like, right there," she gestured vaguely to the other side of the room. "And, uh, I'm not exactly in a patient mood right now, you see, but I want to really take my time with you for our first time together."

"Any other reason?" his hand was stroking the exposed skin of her hip and slowly trailing it's way up her body before he firmly grasped one of her breasts. He circled his thumb around her nipple as she gasped and arched into his touch.

Her hands, which were on his shoulders, clawed at him as he stroked her naked skin. "I...don't...know... I'm having a difficult time forming a cohesive sentence at the - Oh fuck!"

Sirius's hand abandoned her breasts to press against her clothed center. She was wearing nothing except his t-shirt and boxers, not even any underclothes, so when he stroked her there, the only barrier separating his hand from her wet sex was a thin layer of silk. "Mmm," he moaned, "I can feel how hot you are."

Her body trembled at the low register of his voice and she pressed her hips up off of the mattress, craving the friction his hand provided. Chuckling darkly, he pressed his fingers against her again and she let out a sharp cry of pleasure that made him hum with pride.

Her hands slid up his bare collarbone to stroke the back of his neck, playing with the ends of his hair. He began to slide down her body and without him having to say a word, she knew his intentions. "No," her voice sounded throaty and hoarse already. "You can pleasure me, but do it with your hand, I want to be able to kiss you while you touch me."

"Alright," he climbed back up until they were face to face, "but I do intend to repay you for the amazing oral sex you gave me the day after my birthday."

"Later," she rasped as she impatiently squirmed beneath him. Sirius gave her what she was begging for when without warning he slid his hand into the pair of his boxers she was wearing and thrusted into her.

She cried out at the sudden intrusion, but met his hand with her hips. To him, everything felt so surreal. Essentially, she was still fully clothed. but that just made it even sexier. He watched as she panted and repeatedly arched her hips off of the bed to meet every movement his hand made.

They could barely even see each other as, yet again, they found themselves enveloped in the darkness of the room. The lack of sight, however, only heightened their other senses. Every time Luna breathed in, she smelled his delicious scent. Every little sound that escaped either of them was heard by the other.

She whimpered when his hand started to slow down. As much as loved her and as much as a part of him wanted to be slow and sensual, he couldn't help but tease her just a bit. "What's wrong, Baby?"

"You're an arse," she panted as she again tried to press more firmly against his hand but he allowed only the faintest of touches to graze her sensitive area.

"Tell me what you want," he commanded as he bit down on the pulse point on her neck.

"Hard," she managed to tell him as he began to slowly rub circles around her opening, "I want you to do exactly what you were doing, but harder."

Immediately two fingers slammed into her and she screamed. Her nails raked down his back as he kept up a frenzied pace, pounding his fingers into her mercilessly.

"Sirius," she breathed his name in a way that made him almost cum in his pants. Desperately, her lips sought his and they were kissing, deep open-mouthed kisses, with abandon as he drove his fingers even deeper into her, curling them up a bit to hit her in just the right spot.

Without conscious thought, he found himself rubbing his cock again her leg, needing his own release. He was so turned on, so hard, and so close, that it only took a few seconds of pressing his length against her before he really did finish in his boxers. The way he lost control and moved against her when he came sent her over the edge with him, her muscles squeezing around his fingers.

He collapsed beside her, dragging her body against his, kissing her again, feeling better in that moment than he'd ever felt before in his life. "I love you, I love you, I love you," he kept repeating.

Once she finally caught her breath, she smiled up at him and said, "I love you, too, Sirius, but you know that I would have finished you off myself."

With a quick bark of laughter he realized that the insides of his boxers were uncomfortably wet and sticky. "This is new. I've never come once and yet got two pairs of my underpants wet," he tugged at the ones she was wearing and then at his own.

"I'll take care of it," she brandished her wand from where she'd tucked it under his pillow earlier, and with a wave they were both cleaned up. Self-consciously she buried her face into his chest and asked, "How was it? I mean, that was the first time you've ever touched me there, and I guess I was just worried, I mean, um, wondering, if you liked it?"

"I loved it," he assured her, "but I do have one concern."

Luna chanced a glance up at him to see his eyes were twinkling with mischief. "What concern would that be, Mr. Black?"

"You're fucking tight. I'm rather large."

"It will fit," she said with a giggle as she playfully slapped his chest. "It might hurt a bit at first, I mean, it's been a really long time since I've had sex, and you are big. But you don't have anything to worry about."

"How long has it been?"

She cringed, "A year and a half. Almost two years now, I suppose. My ex-boyfriend was two years ahead of me in school. We broke up just before he graduated."

"Blimey."

"Yes, so it's important to me for our first time to be special for both of us."

"How about, I surprise you?" Sirius rolled over so that she was laying on top of him as he spoke. "I will pick a day, arrange everything, make sure it's all special, and you won't know a thing until the moment arrives."

She pretended to contemplate the offer. "I do like surprises," she consented.

"Excellent," he kissed her then snuggled deeper into the mattress before yawning. "We didn't even shag and I'm exhausted. Goodnight, Lu-Lu."

"Goodnight, Sirius Black."

…..

**A/N: Another chapter finished. I'm going to do my best to keep making regular updates with this story. I planned on posting this chapter sooner, but I was sick, and the chapter wasn't finished, and then I went on a short trip.**

**This just might be my favorite story of my own. I love how all of the characters are so different yet so similar at the same time. What do you all think?**

**Next chapter will include more Severus and perhaps the beginning of the holidays. I don't have it written yet, but I have an idea of what it will contain. I try to keep my chapters above a certain number of words.**


	12. Pick Your Poison

"I can't believe you told that idiot." Severus wasn't even looking at her. No, instead he was glaring at his Potions essay.

Luna yawned and leaned back in her chair. "Like you, he figured it out for himself."

"Took him long enough."

"Be nice," Luna wasn't looking at him, either. Her eyes were scanning the shelves of books on either side of where they sat at their usual table in the back of the library.

"They won't try anything while I'm with you," his words were whispered, but she caught them all clearly. The Death Eaters she had offended at the beginning of term were almost constantly stalking around her. She knew they were there now, hiding just out of her sight, behind the stacks of books.

Severus muttered a quiet _muffliato _Charm to make sure they wouldn't be overheard. "Something's bothering you. What is it?" He set his quill down and quirked his head to the side as he finally let his gaze fall on her.

"How could you tell?"

"As skilled as you are at Occlumency, I can still get a general feeling off of you." His eyebrows furrowed together in concern and concentration. Luna met his eyes steadily.

"Sirius doesn't know...everything. Just the basics," her words came out rushed together, but she could tell as his frown deepened that he understood her perfectly. "I'm a time traveling witch from the future. A future in which he is deceased."

"Ah," he drawled with smug superiorness. "You're worried about him finding out that you're the granddaughter of his best mate. In general, nothing would turn a bloke off more than knowing he was shagging a bird who was descended from James Potter. However, this is Black we're talking about. He's a disgusting tosser who would probably find some twisted pleasure in knowing he was bedding someone who was _forbidden _on so many levels."

"Shut up, Sev!" Luna punched his arm hard but he was still chuckling. "He's not a pervert like that! And we're not having sex! I'm worried he'll be disgusted by me once he finds out."

"Honestly, _Potter_," he sneered at her, "I'm not sure whether to comfort you as your friend or to take this opportunity to insult my enemies."

"Severus," she sighed, "you're the only friend I have here who knows the truth. I need you to be here for me. Please."

"God _damn it_, wench! What is it with you and Lily that always has me so fucking willing to do whatever you ask?" his words were growled, but there was no venom in his expression.

"We're just gifted that way. People love us. Must run in the family." she quipped.

"I know that I tease you about resembling James so much, but there must be some of Lily in you, too, because nobody else in the world has ever affected me the way you two have."

As if on cue, Lily Evans appeared with James and Sirius. Noticing at once who Luna was with, Lily stopped short and said stiffly, "Severus."

"Lily." he inclined his head politely, but the anguish in his eyes was obvious to both Lily and Luna in that moment.

It was James who cleared his throat and said in the most 'peace making' voice he could muster, "Luna, we were wondering if you wanted to go down to the match with us? Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw. Should be brutal."

"Ignoring me, Potter?" Severus inquired.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Snape," said James mockingly, "I would have invited you to come with us, you see, it's just that I was concerned none of us would be able to see the match past that giant nose of yours."

It was a moment that James Potter, Severus Snape, and Sirius Black would all three remember for the rest of their lives. Because it was in that moment that Lily Evans and Luna Granger showed the most resemblance. In identical movements, they both spun toward James, glaring at him in unison.

Feeling rather caught off guard, James frowned and blinked rapidly as he glanced between his girlfriend and Luna. Despite the fact that they looked almost nothing alike, that one glare had hidden in it a thousand tiny similarities.

Sirius looked like he'd been clubbed in the back of the head and Severus was momentarily breathless. Completely oblivious to the boys's reactions, both girls said at the same time in the _same bloody way_, "James Harold Potter! Don't you dare-"

They stopped in surprise and turned to each other before bursting into laughter together. "That was scary," said Sirius to James. James nodded in agreement.

Still smiling, Luna said, "Yes, I'll come to the match, just let me grab my things."

...

Regulus Black was amongst the group of boys who were still waiting for a good opportunity to attack Luna Granger, Lily Evans, or Mary MacDonald. It would have been idiotic for them to attack one of the Marauders and hurting one of their girlfriends would be worse than any hex or curse that was thrown directly at them.

However, Regulus also had his own personal vendetta against Granger. As much as he sometimes tried not to, he really did love his older brother. It was with a heavy heart that Regulus contemplated the path his brother set himself on. Gryffindor. Blood Traitor. Inevitably, eventually, member of the Order of the Phoenix.

Somewhere deep down Regulus always believed that Sirius would see the error of his ways and come back groveling at his parent's feet, begging for their forgiveness.

But damn it, he really was head over heels for that stupid half-blood bint. If Regulus couldn't get Sirius to drop that fucking slag then he would never have his brother back.

He was there, in the library, while Luna studied with Severus. Everyone in their group were beyond exasperation at Severus Snape. If he weren't so loyal to them, and to the Dark Lord, they would have been concerned. It was no secret that Lily Evans had been his best friend and object of his affection their first five years of school.

Now it was Luna Granger. But there were differences. For one, Severus never sought her out, she always sought him out. Then there was the fact that Severus was very obviously _not _interested in a romantic relationship with her. But Sirius was jealous and his brother could tell. When Sirius, James, and Lily approached the studying duo Regulus stood up a little straighter. The glint in his brother's eyes proved his theory.

Even though Sev and Granger were clearly just friends, Sirius was jealous. Hardly daring to believe his luck, Regulus had rushed out of the library, away from his friends, so that he could form his plans of revenge.

...

"Sirius," Regulus approached the Gryffindor table with trepidation. His eyes were constantly scanning his surroundings to make sure nobody was trying to hex him as he spoke to his brother.

"Regulus," said Sirius in a clipped tone.

"I got an owl from Mum asking if you'd be home for Christmas this year," it was a lie, but a good one. Regulus hadn't received any such letter from their mother.

"I hope you replied telling her that I already have plans to spend Christmas with my _real _family."

Regulus's gaze flicked up and saw Mulciber inching toward the Gryffindor table, vial of potion in hand. Steeling himself to cause a scene, he sucked in a big breath of air and yelled loudly, "_I'M_ YOUR BROTHER, SIRIUS ORION BLACK! NOT JAMES FUCKING POTTER!"

His words had the desired effect. Every head in the Great Hall turned to look at him in shock. Sirius gaped at him for a moment and Mulciber used the distraction to pour the contents of the potions bottle into Luna's glass of pumpkin juice. "JAMES IS MORE OF A BROTHER TO ME THAN YOU, YOU IGNORANT TOSSER!"

Knowing the job was done, Regulus was anxious to put an end to this confrontation. "If that's how you feel, then FUCK you!" and he stormed off.

"What the hell was that about?" grumbled James as he raked a hand through his hair.

"Beats me," Sirius shrugged with a frown.

Luna gave him a small smile and said, "Maybe you should talk to him later, yeah? No matter what he's done or what he believes in, he's still your little brother, Sirius."

She tipped her glass up and drained it in a few gulps.

...

Immediately after finishing her meal, Luna made her way to the library. Since she had abandoned their study session earlier that morning she was on her way to finish that essay with Severus.

As she walked through the quiet Hogwarts corridors, her thoughts began to wander. Severus Snape. So much different than she had imagined. He was so distant and cold. Yet also handsome. Brave. Powerful. She shivered.

Yes, she had to admit all of those things were accurate assessments of him. His hair was lanky, it was true, but it wasn't greasy, just silky. And okay, maybe his nose was just a bit big, but aside from that his face was perfect. He had a strong defined jaw, perfect cheek bones, deep dark (almost black) eyes that were windows into his very soul.

Luna's steps quickened as she became increasingly more anxious to see him. He was intelligent, too. So intelligent. Brave. And he always smelled deliciously like ink and parchment. Images crept into her mind of Severus bent over his cauldron in Potions class or his manly supple fingers gliding across the pages of a book as he read.

Any girl would be lucky to have him. Why didn't every girl want him? Didn't they see him the way she did? Didn't they realize just how perfect he was? By the time she reached the library she wouldn't have been able to pick Sirius Black out of a crowd. Severus Snape was the only man on her mind.

He was sitting in a chair toward the back corner of the library. A large tome was hiding his face from her view, but she knew it was him. Drawn to him as if by an invisible force her pace slowed and each step felt heavy.

"Hullo," she breathed the word.

He lowered the book just enough to see over the top of it and quirked an eyebrow at her. That was usually as close to a smile as he could muster. At the moment she found it to be an endearing gesture. "You're early," he said.

"I couldn't wait to see you," she admitted as she blushed.

Severus set the heavy book down onto the table with a soft thud and studied her carefully. Something wasn't right with this. Luna never blushed. "What has gotten into you?"

"Bravery."

"Bravery? Haven't you been insisting for the past few months that you're full of bravery already?"

"I meant bravery to tell you how I truly feel. I...I'm in love with you, Severus. I can't stop thinking about you and I want to be with you all the time and I was practically running the whole way here just to be able to see you sooner."

"I see," Severus stroked his chin thoughtfully while she stared at him with wide eyes and a heaving chest. He had reached a point where he trusted and believed the girl before him. However, something wasn't quite adding up.

Before he could figure out what that something was, she leaned down to kiss him. Realizing her intent just a moment before their lips met, he turned his head to the side so she kissed the corner of his mouth. "You can't say that you don't feel anything for me, too," she sounded vulnerable.

"I don't think that you're in your right mind, Luna," he growled.

"I love it when you speak in that tone. It's so sexy," she stepped up to him so that her legs were on either side of his, straddling him as he sat in the library chair.

"Would you trust me enough to allow me to check your words with a glimpse into your mind?"

Luna nodded without any hesitation. Sighing, Severus prodded at the barriers around her mind and with fascination noticed just how intricate and advanced her defenses were. She was a Master Occlumens. He sifted through her mind briefly. He knew it could sometimes be a painful experience and he did his best to just skim over things and search for what he was looking for.

Two things became shockingly obvious to him. The first was that she was definitely _not _under the Imperius Curse, for there was not a trace of another's mind or will influencing her own. The second thing was that she was, to her knowledge, telling him the truth.

If Luna was not _Impurised_ then the only other possibility was that she had been slipped a love potion. As he sifted through her thoughts and memories and began contemplation of the possibility of a love potion, Luna had made quick work of loosening his tie and sucking on his neck. To be honest he'd barely noticed.

"Stop that," he snapped quickly.

"I'm-I'm sorry," she stuttered, "I want to so badly. Please, Sev?" Damn those pleading eyes! He jerked his head in acknowledgement and Luna resumed kissing her way from his ear down his jaw.

Again his thoughts were elsewhere. The only people he knew who would be up to brewing a love potion had no motive or means to do this. None of the Gryffindors would dare do this to Luna or Sirius. None of the Slytherins would dare do this to Severus. None of the Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs had any motive.

The only people who came to mind who would have the aptitude for brewing such a potion aside from Severus himself was Lily Evans, James Potter, Remus Lupin, probably Sirius Black, a select few number of Ravenclaws, a girl in his dorm he'd never spoken to, and perhaps Regulus Black. But none of those were real possibilities because he couldn't think of a damn motive they might have.

With all of those options eliminated, the only logical conclusion to draw was that Luna Potter honestly wanted him. Either that or he'd miscalculated something. At that precise moment Luna sat herself down onto his lap, with her legs wrapped around him, and rocked her hips against his growing erection.

A groan slipped between his lips as his attention snapped immediately back to the situation at hand. "I don't love you," he told her bluntly, "I don't even fancy you. You're nothing more to me than an annoying eccentric friend who reminds me just a little too much of James Potter and not enough of Lily Evans."

"Even if you feel that way now," she whispered, "you might not always. Maybe I can make you fall in love with me, Severus. Let me at least try," her hands were working on the top few buttons of his shirt.

"If we continue what's happening now, I can promise you that sex won't make me love you. I'm far from being a virgin, Potter, so don't think I'm going to start trailing after you like a love-sick puppy if I fuck you."

"I know that, Sev. I think that we've gotten close enough the past few months for me to know a little bit about your personality. I know that shagging won't force any emotions on you, but I still want to do it. I want you so badly I can't stand it."

Her hands pulled open his now unbuttoned shirt to reveal his bare chest. It wasn't muscular like Sirius's, but it was flat and smooth, with a small patch of dark hair in the center. She raked her nails lightly down his chest and used this distraction to _finally_ connect their lips.

The kiss was passionate. It was so sudden and raw that he couldn't help but respond to it. Before he knew what was happening, he was kissing her back. She was an excellent snog and Severus eagerly showed off his own skills, matching her nip for nip and lick for lick.

Severus could think of no objections to this. He knew she wasn't cursed, and the chances of her being under the effects of a love potion were slim, so why not enjoy this? Giving in with a low grunt, he slid his hands under her skirt to grasp her arse and pull her harder against him.

Not to mention, there was a part of him that was deeply satisfied at the possibility of shagging this girl for three twisted reasons. One was that she was the girlfriend of Sirius Black and he hated Black. Second, she was the granddaughter of Potter and he hated Potter. Third, she was the granddaughter of Lily and this would be as close as he would ever get to being with his Lily.

...

"Luna off studying with Snivellus?" James asked with distaste.

"Yeah, I reckon so. She mentioned earlier that they were going to work on their Potions essays together," Sirius scratched the back of his head as he wondered why the hell his girlfriend was trying so hard to befriend the Dark Slytherin.

"Sirius!"

Both boys turned at the shout and saw Remus Lupin running toward them panting, reaching a hand out, with horror etched on his face. "What's up, Moony?"

"I just came from the kitchens," he said between pants as he regained his breath. He laid a hand on Sirius's shoulder to support himself, "the House Elves called me down there, seeing as how I'm Head Boy and a Gryffindor..."

"Get to the point," said James impatiently.

"The House Elves...they found traces of an illegal potion in Luna's goblet from dinner tonight."

"WHAT?" Sirius bellowed as he grabbed Remus by the upper arms. "What potion, Moony?"

"Stop shaking me, Padfoot! Bloody hell! It was a love potion. But not just any love potion. It was Amortentia, in it's undiluted form. I don't know who it was supposed to make her fall in love with, Sirius, but if the potion was undiluted..."

"Oh fucking hell," James clapped a hand to his forehead in understanding as Sirius's mouth dropped open in disbelief, "Sirius, we have to find her before she finds whatever bloke's essence was in that potion! If she finds him, she'll jump his bones! Poor sod won't have a chance if she tries to seduce him!"

"Do you have an antidote?" Sirius's question was barely above a whisper as he looked back and forth between his friends.

"Slughorn will," said Remus assuredly.

"Find him," said Sirius, "James and I will look for Luna, you find Slughorn! Run, for fuck's sake, Lupin, _run_!"

As Remus tore off down the corridor, Sirius turned to James, "If that potion was undiluted, it will take both of us to pull her off of whatever man she's with. Where do you reckon she might be?"

"Well she was supposed to be heading toward the library, right? Let's go there first. Maybe Snape will still be there and he can tell us where she went if she ran into him before the potion kicked in."

Sirius nodded and the boys took off running toward the library.

...

"That feels so good," she told him breathlessly as he palmed the lace cups of her bra. By this point her shirt had been removed and his trousers were now unbuckled. While his hands teased her breasts, hers pushed his shirt off of his shoulders. Just as she leaned in to kiss his shoulder, her body was jerked violently backward.

Luna let out a sharp cry and Severus was on his feet with his wand drawn. "_Snivellus_," hissed James Potter, "we should have known it was you! Proficient with potions, spends a lot of time around her, someone she would trust enough to let near her goblet at dinner," he was listing off all of the clues that led him to the conclusion that Severus was the person who poisoned her drink.

"I'm going to kill him!" Sirius looked like he would have charged at Snape if he hadn't otherwise been occupied with keeping a firm hold on his girlfriend who was writhing in his grasp, struggling to get back to Severus.

"What the fuck are you tossers talking about?"

"Oh?" James feigned innocence, "It's news to you, is it, that someone spiked her evening pumpkin juice with undiluted Amortentia?"

"What?" Severus did sound sincerely surprised, even to their ears, though they were loathe to admit it. "I did suspect...but who would have done such a thing?"

"Can you think of no one who might have a vendetta against Luna or Sirius?" James asked rhetorically.

"Of course," Severus snarled, "but none of them would do such a thing against me, Potter! If someone wanted to hurt Luna and Sirius by use of a love potion, they would have given it to Sirius for him to throw himself at some random bird or they would have put quite an interesting turn on it and put your essence into the potion, Potter, so she'd fawn over you instead of your best mate."

"Thought all of this through quite thoroughly, haven't you?" Sirius growled.

"As I said," repeated Snape calmly, "I suspected she wasn't acting of her own free will, but I checked her for any traces of a curse and dismissed the idea of a love potion because I couldn't think of anyone who would have the motive to do this."

"You mother fucking liar!"

"Stop it! All of you!" Luna spoke for the first time. The effects of the potion were still causing her body to ache for Severus's, but her mind was catching every word of their conversation. "I want Severus. I'm in love with Severus. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Sirius, but it's true!"

"It's not!" he hadn't meant to snap at her. He knew she wasn't in her right mind. But he was so mad at Snape, visions of his girlfriend all over his worst enemy still fresh in his mind, that his words were drowning with venom, "You've been poisoned, Luna! Don't you understand what the fuck that means?"

Luna finally gave up fighting as Sirius had her arms locked securely behind her back and let her body drop down to her knees, forcing Sirius to the ground behind her. James just stood to the side glancing back and forth between Sirius and Snape as if waiting for one to attack the other. "I didn't do this," Severus said clearly.

"James," Sirius grunted, "get her shirt."

James nodded and quickly retrieved the garment from an empty candle bracket on the wall and together they worked to get it back on her body and buttoned up properly. James was careful to not touch any inappropriate part of her anatomy as he helped Sirius with this task.

"I've got it," Remus froze as he entered the library, vial in hand, to see James, Sirius, and Luna on the floor after clearly having struggled together, and Snape standing before them with his trousers unbuckled, shirt hanging open, and wand aimed at the trio on the floor.

"Give it here," Sirius stretched out his free hand and Remus thrusted the antidote into it. Sirius uncorked the bottle roughly with his teeth, shoved the opening between her plump red lips and forced her to swallow it down.

Luna blinked rapidly before her eyes seemed to come into clearer focus and she whispered the words, "Oh shit." Sirius's grip on her was removed and everyone stepped back, away from her, unsure of what her reaction would be to her own actions.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked with a tenderness that made Severus roll his eyes.

"Yes," she told him, her big brown eyes filling with tears, "I'm so so so sorry, love," she told him as she wrapped her arms around herself. "It wasn't Sev, though. He didn't spike my pumpkin juice."

"How do you know?" inquired James.

"Because when I arrived at the library and started coming onto him he kept spurning my advances. He kept trying to push me away. He kept telling me 'no.'"

"Why would he deny you?" snarled Sirius meanly, "He's a fucking snake. Why wouldn't he shag a girl who was throwing herself at him?"

"I suspected at first that she wasn't acting of her own accord," said Snape quickly in explanation. "I looked for any evidence of an Imperius Curse but found none. I didn't think anyone would be daft enough to slip her a potion. She's my friend, Black. I wouldn't do anything to ever purposefully hurt her."

"Right, just like you wouldn't do anything to ever hurt Lily," James threw in.

"Once," Severus hissed, his eyes narrowing, "_Once _I hurt her by letting that vile word slip from my mouth in a moment of stress and frustration. I will never be so callous again."

"Calm down, everyone," said Remus as he moved to stand between the two boys who were inching progressively closer toward each other. "It wasn't any of our faults what happened tonight. Snape, you should return to your dormitory for the evening. We will figure out who did this, but not now when all of our emotions are frayed and overcharged. Luna, how do you feel? Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

"No, Remus, I'm fine, thank you."

"Very well. Let's all return to our dormitories." Without another word, Severus marched out of the library while straightening his clothes. Remus and James exited together, talking in whispers about their suspicions as to who the culprit was.

"Let me help you," Sirius knelt down and reached for her, but Luna flinched away from him.

"Don't touch me," her voice was hoarse.

Sirius leaned back, "I'm sorry that I snapped at you."

"You think I'm mad at you?" the tears that had been building up finally came spilling over. "Oh Sirius, the reason I don't want you to touch me is because I feel so...so dirty! I've never cheated before in my life," tears streamed down her face in big droplets as she spoke but she didn't move to wipe them away. "I don't deserve your kindness. I don't deserve your understanding. I don't deserve you. Spare me your pity, Sirius, and just leave me here."

"Luna...Lu-Lu...I..." he didn't know what to say. Sirius Black was at a loss for words. How could she possibly think that he held any of this disaster against her? As if reading his thoughts, she looked up at him.

"You can't tell me that you're not disgusted by what I did. I'm disgusted by what I did! Severus has been a good friend to me, but to...to do what I was doing with him," she shook her head violently back and forth and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"You weren't you, Love," Sirius sat down beside her but was careful to keep his hands to himself. "Of course it was disconcerting to see you in your bra with your tongue down Snivellus's throat, but...well, okay, so I might ask you to please brush your teeth and put some mouth wash to use before I kiss you again, but darling, I love you. I'm going to absolutely kill whoever did this to you!"

"I don't think they meant to hurt me as much as they meant to hurt you," she sniffed, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. "I think it was one of the Death Eater blokes that Severus hangs around with. Whoever it was probably thought they were doing Sev a favor while also managing to hurt you."

...

Regulus Black couldn't believe how his plan had turned out. Damn those House Elves for foiling his plot! He didn't know they could detect poisons so easily. Then there was the fact that if Sirius and James had been just a little bit delayed in finding her, they may have very well stumbled across Luna and Snape shagging in the library.

Regulus didn't want to _hurt _his brother. Oppositely, he wanted to help him. If he were being honest with himself, he didn't want to hurt that Luna bitch, either. That was why he had asked his friends to let him handle this situation. They were still angry about the altercation a couple of months previously. Regulus had volunteered to extract their revenge.

Now he would have to try to come up with something else. Even as he watched and eavesdropped on their conversation he had a hard time believing the words they spoke to each other. Sirius was obviously smitten with her but Regulus had no way of knowing if she was putting on an act with him or not. Did she really care for him the way she claimed?

To his displeasure, Sirius reached out a hand to help Granger up off of the floor and they exited the library hand-in-hand. At least Regulus would have all of Christmas holiday to devise a new plan.

...

"It would seem that this is where our paths diverge," said Severus casually as he approached Luna for the first time since that disastrous evening in the library. The following morning they were all departing for the holidays.

"What are you talking about?" she asked sharply as she glanced up from the book in her hands. They hadn't planned on meeting up, it had just happened accidentally. She was curled up in a chair in the library. Unknown to anyone else, Sirius was currently tutoring a few third and fourth years in the Charms classroom so she had decided to spend her free time reading for pleasure as opposed to all of the school textbooks she'd been reading lately.

"I'm taking my NEWT's in January, remember? I'll be back for one week sitting my exams and then I'll be out of here."

"If you pass them," she admonished gently.

He snorted and rolled his eyes, "Do you really think I could possibly fail any subject? You've been my study partner for most of this term, you should know better than anyone else the vast extent of my knowledge and ability."

"And the boundless limits of your massive ego," she mocked with a little smile. "I'm going to miss you."

"You really shouldn't. You already know where my life is heading, Miss Potter. Even as I stand before you, a branded Death Eater, you dare to think that I am a good man. You think that being drunk with power is a thing of my future, but I assure you it is a thing of my present. I _like _being a Death Eater. I _like _having power over people. Why do you think I took advantage of you the other night? I knew that there was a possibility you weren't in your right mind, but I went ahead with it anyway. Do you know why? Because as much as I value our friendship, I wanted to hurt Potter and Black even more. Every time I am presented with a choice, my darker side wins. Don't forget that, Lily Luna Potter. Naïve innocent girl that you are, never forget not only what I am capable of but also what my past record forewarns. I chose anger and pride over the love of my life. I chose revenge and sexual satisfaction over our friendship. Yet here you sit telling me that you will miss my presence in your life and that you still care for me as a close friend."

Startled by such a speech, Luna collected her thoughts before replying evenly, "When I first came here I thought of you as an ally and someone who saved my father's life on several occasions. Now I think of you as a close personal friend, Severus, not because of your sins, but because of your virtues. You see mostly darkness in yourself and I see mostly light. Even when your darker side prevails, a part of you is still sickened by it and eventually, when Lily dies, there will be a catalyst and the dark parts of your soul will be conquered by love and light."

Swiftly, before he could quite figure out what was going on, she was on her feet. Luna kissed both of his cheeks, hugged him fiercely and whispered a final parting sentence. "Thank you, Severus Snape, for being the man I know you will one day become."

…..

Things between Luna and Sirius were perfectly fine and she was more surprised than anyone else about this. Contrary to what everyone thought would happen, Sirius did not attempt any sort of revenge on Snape as they had deduced it was not him who had a hand in the love potion debacle.

When she'd inquired about his less than hostile attitude about the whole thing he'd merely shrugged and told her, "I have my priorities straight, Pet. You, you, you, my friends, and you."

Pleased with the maturity he was exhibiting, she accepted his answer and they moved forward together. Tomorrow she would be on a train to Potter Manor. She would be meeting her great-grandparents. Charlus and Dorea. Apparently Dorea's maiden name was Black and she was a distant relative of Sirius's which reminded Luna of the conversation they'd had about being related somewhere down the line. All witches and wizards had intersecting family trees and none more than the purebloods.

"Has anyone seen my white skirt? Not that one, the one with the little pink flowers along the hemline?" Lily Evans was nervously fluttering around the room packing all last minute items.

"I haven't seen anything of the sort," said Alice kindly, knowing that Lily's nerves were frayed with worry over meeting James's parents.

"Oh no! I think I left it at home! I wanted to wear it when I met them!"

"Lils, calm down, you're going home before you go to James's house. Pick it up there."

"You don't understand," groaned Lily, "if I left it at home, Petunia probably took it! I wouldn't be surprised if that bint had her stupid chicken legs in it right now."

"Don't fret, you can just throw all sorts of hexes and jinxes at her until she gives it back. You're of age now so you won't even get into trouble for it. Unless you use one of the Unforgivable Curses, of course," said Mary with a shrug of her slim shoulders.

"I highly doubt the Ministry would punish me for using an Unforgivable Curse on Petunia. They would probably thank me with an Order of Merlin First Class for ridding the world of such an annoying slag," Lily replied scathingly.

"She's your sister!" said a surprised Alice.

"That doesn't stop her from being a twat," Mary and Luna giggled at Lily's words while Alice rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut. Luna didn't say anything. She'd met her great-aunt Petunia, of course, and didn't think too highly of her but she couldn't say that.

"When will James be picking you up?" Luna inquired.

"Christmas day. I wanted to invite him to Christmas dinner, but Petunia is bringing a boy and Mum and Dad are nervous enough having me around let alone another magical person."

"I thought your parents were proud of you being a witch?" Luna was glad that Mary had asked this.

"They are, but it also makes them nervous because I sometimes accidentally slip and say something about magic or Hogwarts without thinking around my muggle family. According to the Ministry, the only people who can know I am a witch are close family members, which basically means my parents and sister. Of course if Petunia gets married I can tell my brother-in-law, though I doubt any man would ever want to marry Petunia, I don't even know how she has a boyfriend." Lily let out a snort of laughter at the thought.

"What's his name?" Luna hoped she sounded politely curious while inside she was dying to know if this man was the one Petunia would marry.

"Vernon. Vernon Dursley. At least that's what Mum wrote in her letter. I wouldn't be surprised if Petunia made him up."

"Hmm, Dursley, you say? I have a feeling that this one just might stick around," with a knowing look in her eye, Luna smiled before returning to packing her own things.

….

**A/N: Next chapter is the beginning of the holidays! Do you think Luna will see Severus again? What plan will Regulus devise for Sirius and Luna? **

**As far as canon is concerned, I have only deviated from it a bit. In canon James was Head boy. The reason I made Lupin Head boy is simply because that's what I wanted to do. It made more sense to me for Remus to become Head boy. I know that being a Prefect is not a prerequisite for the position, but it just seems logical. Plus Remus is a lot more responsible than James in this story. **

**It is unknown who James's parents were or what his middle name was. It is suspected that Charlus and Dorea are James's parents but it is not a fact. Dorea Potter (nee Black) died in 1977 in canon, but as I am making her James's mother, she is still alive in my story even though it is about to be 1978. Also in canon James's parents die of a wizarding illness, but I am going to handle their lives just a bit differently so be prepared for that in a later chapter. **

**To my knowledge, this is the only canon I have altered. I hope that is okay with everyone. **

**As always, please let me know what you think of this story so far!**

**Yours, **

**MofDA**


	13. Potters

**A/N: This chapter is short and I apologize for that, but I wanted to leave it right where I did on purpose. I debated on adding a bit more but I didn't want to add things just to buff up the word-count. I hope that you all like this. Please let me know what you think of James's parents!**

…**..**

Luna was disappointed when she stepped off the Hogwarts Express and James remarked casually, "My parents aren't meeting us here, Sirius and I both have our Apparition licenses so they reckon we can make it there on our own."

Sirius gave her a reassuring smile as he snaked an arm around her waist. Luna turned to Lily and asked, "You'll be there Christmas day and stay for the rest of the holiday?"

"That's the plan. Don't worry, I won't leave you alone with those idiots for too long." Luna pulled out of Sirius's embrace just long enough to hug Lily.

"We'll let you two say your sappy goodbyes, I'll take Luna to the house."

"Alright, I'll just be a minute." James wasn't even looking at Sirius as he spoke, his eyes locked on Lily as she ran her hands up his chest.

Before she even realized what happened Luna found herself standing in front of Potter Manor. They stood a good distance back from the gates and beyond them Luna could see a four story mansion. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something about this castle-sized house that warmed her on the inside. If a house could feel friendly then that's what Luna was feeling.

"It's beautiful," she gave it a broad smile before running full tilt toward the gates with the ornate letter _P _adorning it. With one of her hands holding tightly to Sirius's, her other hand brushed the metal and it melted away at her touch, turning to smoke and letting them through.

When she passed that barrier she felt an immediate difference. Just outside their property it was a blustery, cold, and snowy day. However inside the gate it felt like spring time.

Even the grounds surrounding the house had a magical feel. Luna could feel it in her bones just like she could feel the magic at The Burrow and Grimauld Place. It was a place that had so many magical inhabitants living in it throughout the years that the magic became part of the physical structure. The landscape was meticulously cared for with some of Luna's favorite flowers growing in intricate patterns.

It wasn't unlike Malfoy Manor, which she'd visited once with her cousin, Rose. Except Malfoy Manor felt darker. It had experienced too much dark magic in it's past to feel this wonderful and pure. A lawn gnome came running by them, wobbling absurdly as it giggled madly. "Is de-gnoming the garden one of James's chores?" she asked as she recalled all of the times she and her cousins had to rid the Burrow of the annoying little creatures.

Sirius snorted in amusement. "Hardly. Charlus, James's father, thinks they're _charming_ and Dorea, James's mother, likes to keep them around because they actually eat weeds."

Luna found herself looking everywhere except up at the house until they reached the stairs leading up to the front door. Then she let her gaze fall upon the front of the house and froze. Before her was a beautiful older witch who was smiling at her in a confused sort of way.

Before Luna could say anything, she found herself letting go of Sirius's hand and lunging at the woman, hugging her fiercely. They were exactly the same height, although Luna was sure that she'd gotten her short stature from her mother's side of the family.

"Hi," she breathed as she released the woman and leaned back to get a better look at her. "I'm Luna P-Granger. Luna Granger. Sirius's girlfriend. I hope that I'm not imposing." The woman had black hair with streaks of gray through it. Lines around her mouth and eyes denoted wrinkles that were caused by smiling a lot. Her eyes were the same hazel color that James's were, but wider, and kinder.

"Not at all," the woman was still looking at her in confusion and Luna felt uncomfortable under her stern gaze. "Charlus and I are glad to have you here."

"I'm very glad to be here, Mrs. Potter."

"Where's James?" Dorea asked Sirius as he came up the steps and hugged her, kissing her cheek respectfully.

"Still on the platform saying goodbye to his girlfriend."

Dorea's eyes widened a bit more as if this news shocked her. "It's so good to have you home." She stretched up to kiss Sirius affectionately on the forehead, which he had to bend over to accommodate.

"It's good to be home, Mum. Did our luggage make it home alright?"

"Yes, Sirius," she said with a chuckle, "your Charms are infallible as always. They arrived in the foyer and I had Tippy take them up to your bedrooms."

"Mum!" At that moment a beaming James Potter came skipping up the path from the gates and engulfed his mother into a hug that lifted her off of her feet. He spun her around twice before setting her down and bestowing a kiss on the top of her head, slightly musing the tight bun her hair was pulled up in.

"James," she gave an exasperated sigh as she greeted him the same way she'd greeted Sirius.

"What's for dinner? I'm starving!" He led the way into the house. "Dad!" he called.

"James! Sirius!" An older man entered the room and Luna appraised him the same way she had his wife. He wasn't handsome in the tradition sense yet there was still something striking about his features. He was tall, with just a little bit of excess weight around his middle. He wore a casual suit, waistcoat, and Luna could see the chain of a pocket watch around one of the buttons on his vest.

His hair was silver so she couldn't be sure what his natural shade had once been. His eyes were a sparkling blue. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Potter, thank you so much for having me."

"The pleasure is all ours, my dear," he said with a smile as he reached for her hand and kissed it politely. No wonder James was such a charmer. He had an old fashioned gentleman for a father and a doting mother. Neither of which, she realized belatedly, were wearing wizard's robes. Dorea was in a casual skirt that reached her ankles and a plain blue blouse.

"You have a beautiful home," said Luna sincerely.

"James and Sirius haven't even given you the tour yet!" Charlus enthused as he motioned for the two of them to lead the way further into the house.

"Quick tour then dinner," said James.

James wasn't jokingly about it being a quick tour. He practically ran through the house, shouting out random rooms. "Lavatory! Spare bedroom! Another spare bedroom! Study! Library! Kitchen! Parlor!" and so on.

When they reached Sirius's bedroom Luna wanted to linger and look around some more, but James rushed them on, obviously anxious to reach the dining room. What startled her the most, however, was that her things were in Sirius's bedroom. "Your parents are okay with that?" she asked incredulously.

"Oh yeah. Mum knows Sirius wouldn't bring a girl home unless she was special. She assumes you two are shagging anyway. She'd rather just accept it than have you two sneaking into each other's bedrooms behind her back at night."

Luna blushed but didn't comment. It wasn't like her to feel embarrassed about anything, but she wanted Dorea and Charlus Potter to think highly of her. The last thing she wanted was for them to think she was a tramp.

When they mercifully reached the dining room, Sirius pulled out a chair for Luna before taking a seat himself. Two house elves served the meal, who were addressed by the family as 'Tilly' and 'Tippy.'

"Excuse me, dear," said Dorea politely but with a scrutinizing look at Luna. "It's not that it matters to us at all, but would it be inappropriate of me to inquire as to your blood status?"

"Mum," Sirius grumbled in an embarrassed way.

"It's fine," Luna assured him as she set her spoon back into her bowl of soup. "I'm a half-blood, Mrs. Potter."

"Please, call me Dorea. Now James and Sirius told me that your parents were recently killed?" Luna nodded. "Were they both magical?" Again, she nodded. "Would you mind very much if I asked about your wizard heritage? Are you, perchance, related to the Burkes?"

"I only very recently became interested in genealogy," she answered truthfully as she dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "My mother was a Weasley and her mother was a Prewett."

Charlus gave a low whistle. "Good families, the Weasleys and the Prewetts."

"Blood traitors, you mean," Sirius acknowledged with a tip of his wineglass. He turned to Luna and explained quietly, "The Potters are well known blood traitors. They hold the families in highest esteem who are also blood traitors. If you had been a Burke she might have kicked you out."

"Nonsense," Dorea bristled. "I wouldn't have kicked the poor child out! You, of all people, should know that, Sirius _Black_."

"I'm just teasing, Mum."

"Cheeky git," she said with affection. "Both of you," she added with a glance at James.

"Was your father a muggleborn then?" Charlus asked conversationally as he continued to sip at his soup.

"Er, no, not exactly. He was a half-blood. His father was a pureblood and his mother was a muggleborn."

"Fascinating," said Charlus.

"You'll have to forgive my husband," Dorea chided, "He's very interested in genealogy. He's actually doing important research now on muggleborns." Nobody missed the pride in her voice.

"That sounds very interesting."

"Oh it is! Did you know that the more we study muggleborn's ancestors we're discovering that somewhere down the line there is a Squib? Perhaps when we have enough evidence to prove our theory, the so-called 'pureblood' society will accept the fact that those of muggle parentage are not inferior."

"I must admit; even though I am not biased, I am nervous about meeting this Lily girl you're dating, James." She gave her son a stern look. "I've never been around muggles at all, and have only spent very little time around muggleborns."

"You must have had dorm mates who had muggle parents while you were at Hogwarts," suggested Luna.

"Actually, no, I didn't. Even though the occasional muggleborn _was _placed in Sltyerhin, it was far from common."

"You were a Slytherin?" Luna asked with a gasp. Wait until her brothers heard this! Especially James! "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you…"

"Not at all," she gave an airy wave of her hand. "The houses were not as divided then as they are now. Back when Charlus and I were at Hogwarts there was still an avid rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin but we were much friendlier with each other. It's all the fault of that awful Voldemort man."

"Now, Mum, you know you don't have to worry about him. We'll have him and his followers stamped out soon," James's confident air made Luna's heart hurt. He truly did believe it would be an easy fight.

"I wish that Charlus and I were young enough to join that Order Dumbledore is forming."

"Now, Dor, we both know that if it came down to it you wouldn't be able to fight and possibly kill your family." Charlus said with a sad smile as he patted her hand.

"Oh I would! My parents disowned my brother, my niece disowned Sirius, my cousin was disowned for marrying a Weasley! I'm shocked that my name hasn't been blotted out from the family tree for marrying you!"

"Your…niece disowned Sirius?" asked Luna. Oh the twisted interlacing roots of pureblood family trees.

"Walburga, Sirius's mum, is my first cousin," James said softly. "Maybe later I'll show the family tree that my mum is obviously so fond of."

With a snicker Luna continued eating. "So how did the two of you end up together if Dorea is a Slytherin and Charlus is a Gryffindor?"

Dorea laughed and covered her mouth with her hand sounding years younger as she remembered when she first noticed Charlus Potter. "I was walking down the hall at Hogwarts when my bag tore open. Everything spilled out. A few Slytherin boys laughed and kept walking. Then Charlus knelt down and picked everything up. I was shocked because not only had we never spoken before, but he'd picked up my items by hand even though he could have easily Summoned them. That was when I realized that perhaps having enough chivalry and bravery to be in Gryffindor wasn't a bad thing."

"For me it was before that. I noticed Dorea because she wasn't like the rest of her family. I already knew that I wasn't like the rest of mine. You see, even though my family would never have gone as far as killing muggles and muggleborns the way Voldemort has, they still thought themselves above them. They still thought that Hogwarts shouldn't admit those types. When I saw her bag split open I seized my chance, struck up a conversation with her, and we went from there."

"It took years for him to convince me to marry him," Dorea Potter was lost in memories as she gazed at her husband. "I was afraid of being disowned by my family the way they disowned Cedrella for marrying Septimus. But apparently Charlus Potter was better than Septimus Weasley." She gave a dramatic roll of her eyes.

Luna knew she was treading on thin ice. Dorea obviously knew her family tree very well along with the family trees of other notable pureblood families. Would she figure out that Luna was lying? Perhaps there was no union between a Prewett and a Weasley that could possibly be her grandparents.

"The soup was wonderful but I'm afraid that I am exhausted. I really would like to get some sleep if you don't mind," she threw her napkin down beside her empty bowl and stood.

"Of course," Dorea shook herself from her memories as Charlus, James, and Sirius all stood respectfully when Luna stood. With an inward snort she noted that James and Sirius didn't act this way at school.

"I think it's time that Sirius and I retire as well. Goodnight, Mum, Dad," James nodded to each of them, as did Sirius, and the three of them climbed the grand staircase all the way up to the third floor.

"This is the second biggest bedroom in the house," Sirius told her as he waved his wand at the window and it creaked open enough to let in a gentle breeze. Luna was about to protest when she remembered that the outside air felt like spring instead of winter. Must be part of the magic of the house.

"The second biggest?"

"Yes, the master suite is, of course, occupied by Charlus and Dorea. When James was a child his parents let him choose his bedroom and he picked the one closest to theirs, which is smaller than this one but still has it's own lavatory attached to the room like this one."

"And those rooms were on the second floor, right? In the….east wing?"

"Close," he smirked at her, "second floor, _west_ wing."

With a giggle Luna slid into an oversized t-shirt that belonged to Sirius, a pair of red shorts, and climbed into bed. Sirius joined her and extinguished the torches in the room with a wave of his wand.

"Goodnight, Luna."

"Goodnight, Sirius. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Luna quickly fell into the best night of sleep she had had since she arrived in the year 1977.

…..

Lily Evans entered her home with a sigh. Despite her hopes, her parents hadn't been there on the platform to welcome her home. But that was okay. They didn't belong in the magical world and it was a dangerous place for muggles to be at the moment.

"Lily!" Her mother squealed as they hugged each other tightly.

"Where's dad?"

"In the garage. You know him, always tinkering with something mechanical. Your sister is upstairs if you'd like to see her. I think she's on the phone with Vernon." Lily could tell by her mother's pursed lips exactly what she thought of Vernon Dursley.

"Erm, no thanks, I'll go say 'hi' to Dad."

Before Lily could exit the sitting room, her sister appeared at the top of the stairs. Petunia Evans was tall, blonde, and skinny, but not very pretty in Lily's opinion. She had a horse-like face and a rather long neck. The first thing Lily noticed was that Petunia was in fact wearing the skirt she'd been looking for the day before.

"Oh dear," said Petunia scathingly. "You're home. At least it's only for a few days until a few more of _your _kind come to take you away."

"Now Petunia," began Mrs. Evans but Lily interrupted.

"Oh, Petunia!" she gushed with fake dread. "You didn't get that skirt out of my bedroom, did you? That skirt is cleverly enchanted to make you look three times your actual size. I was going to give it to Mary as a gag gift!"

Petunia paled considerably. "What?"

"You haven't been wearing that out in public, have you?" Lily continued with wide eyes.

"You bint!" Petunia screamed as she reached for the zipper and tugged it down, shimmying out of the skirt as quickly as she could. "I told you she would be nothing but trouble!" she screeched at their mother.

With an angry yell, Petunia flung the skirt at Lily and turned back toward her bedroom showing off her pink knickers to her mother and sister as the skirt was no longer covering her. "That wasn't nice, Lily," said her mother but there was a hint of a grin on her face.

"She wouldn't have given it back to me otherwise," Lily grumbled as she fingered the delicate flower pattern of the skirt.

Her mother laughed and hugged her. "I am so glad to have you home."

…

"James? Can we talk to you for a minute, Son?" Charlus and Dorea came into James's rooms after he excused himself from dinner.

"Sure, what do you need?" James was unpacking his trunk haphazardly; throwing the contents of his trunk around the room randomly.

"There's something a bit off about that Luna girl," said Dorea with worry as she wrung her hands together.

"What do you mean?"

"You weren't with Sirius and Luna when they arrived, but they came right up to the front door."

"You mean you didn't meet them at the gate to let them in?" James asked with a frown. It was a little-known fact that nobody but a Potter could get into their house without being accompanied by a member of the family. The gate was there for more than just looks; it was a magical barrier that neither Sirius nor Luna should have been able to penetrate.

"I was on my way to but they were already at the door!" she hissed.

"Perhaps Sirius is closely enough related to us…" James winced even as he said it, knowing it wasn't possible. Sirius wouldn't know about this Charm as every time he'd ever entered the gate he was with James.

Both of his parents were shaking their heads. "You don't understand," said Charlus, "the Charm on the gate is more powerful than just being a relative. The person entering the gate has to actually have the surname Potter and be a direct descendent of our family."

"That's impossible," scoffed James. "Maybe the Charm is wearing off and needs to be reinforced."

"The gate is made of goblin-wrought metal. The spells placed upon it cannot wear off over time like most spells can." Dorea corrected.

"Then what are you trying to say? That Luna is some Dark Magic user who somehow managed to circumvent our Charms and get into our house?" James immediately jumped onto the defense.

"No," said Charlus quietly, "We are saying that we think she is lying about her surname. She mentioned that her father's father was a pureblood. That means her surname, Granger, should be a pureblood name, but it isn't. As a matter of fact I've never heard of any wizard, pureblood or otherwise, having that name."

"Maybe she was adopted," said James angrily.

"Actually…that's what we're suspecting," said Dorea quietly. "We like the girl, James, we really do, and we know that she is important to both you and Sirius."

Charlus began talking when his wife stopped, "I have a brother, your uncle Castor, and it's quite possible he had a child with a woman and never knew it. The woman could have easily raised the child with another man or put it up for adoption."

"That's impossible," said James curtly. "Luna said her father's father was a pureblood and his surname was Granger. Why would she lie about that?"

"We don't know, darling, but something about her story isn't adding up."

"And no matter what, the fact of the matter is that she is, whether she's aware of it or not, a _Potter_."


	14. The Night

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Warning: Sexual content in this chapter**

…**.**

James would be lying if he said that his discussion with parents didn't make him doubt his newest friend. He had always known Luna was strange. She did and said strange things, she knew things she shouldn't, and she was quite a little fireball. However he never in his wildest dreams thought she was outright lying to them about anything.

Did she know that she was directly related to him? Had she perhaps done research on his family or spied on him to find out things? Maybe she discovered she was adopted, investigated things further, and decided she wanted to meet James and his family?

Or…as much as he despised this other possibility, he had to be logical about this. What if Luna was a spy for Voldemort? What if, instead of being a Potter, she actually knew enough Dark Magic that she could break through the enchantments surrounding his house?

The worst part of this whole thing was that he couldn't discuss this with Sirius. Sirius was so enthralled with the bird that James knew he would jump immediately to her defense.

Instead he took it upon himself to keep a closer eye on her, similar to Sirius's original stance with her. If she was possibly his cousin, there must be some similarities between them, right? He scrutinized her closely over breakfast the following morning. But damn it the only thing that reminded him of himself was her black hair. Lots of people had black hair. Plus, he'd gotten his black hair from his mum's side of the family, not from the Potter side.

"Hey, mate," Sirius clapped James on the shoulder. "Would you mind if I took Luna for a spin on my motorcycle? I don't want to leave you here all by your lonesome…" Sirius hated making James feel left out of anything.

"It's fine," James told him sincerely. "Have a good time."

James wished that Sirius would leave the house by himself and come back. He still suspected that perhaps since his parents had unofficially adopted his best friend that perhaps the house considered him a member of the family. Yes, that must be it. The enchantments around the house recognize Sirius as a Potter since he lives there and is treated like James's brother.

James watched in amusement as Luna and Sirius argued about her wearing a helmet. "I said no, Black!" She snapped. "If you're not wearing one then I'm not wearing one, either!"

"Fine! I hope we get hit by a bus and your head gets cracked wide open, wench!" Sirius snarled back.

Luna crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her nose up at the proffered helmet. Sirius made an "Arrrggg!" sound before giving in just as James knew he would. "Alright! You win. I'll wear a fucking helmet."

"Language, Sirius," scolded Dorea as she came into the room.

"I apologize for using foul language in front of you, Luna," Sirius said with a roll of his eyes.

Luna smirked at him, wondering deviously what Dorea would say if she knew that Luna could probably out-cuss Sirius. "I accept your apology. Make sure it doesn't happen again," she batted her long eyelashes at him before turning and flouncing out the door.

James watched from the window as they crossed the yard to the garage. They emerged a few minutes later on his motorcycle, both with helmets he noted with a chuckle, then they drove off down the long driveway and out of the gates. Of course, _leaving_ Potter Manor wasn't the issue, just entering.

…..

"This is amazing!" Luna screamed over the roar of the wind in her ears as they flew above the cloud cover so they wouldn't be seen by the muggles below. Sirius wasn't worried about the muggles spotting them but Luna was.

"I know!" he shouted back. He pressed harder on the throttle and the bike shot forward even faster. Luna gave a squeal of surprise and clung even tighter to him as she had her arms wrapped securely around his middle.

It was a short flight overall but Luna was glad about that. "Oh Merlin, I am so fucking cold!" she yelled as they dipped through a cloud.

Sirius chuckled but wouldn't admit that he himself was freezing his perfectly sculpted arse off.

When they landed right outside of the large gates leading to James's home, Sirius felt her body shiver around his and wished it was due to something other than the cold temperature.

The very moment they passed through the entrance it was several degrees warmer. "I think my fingers are going to fall off," she said breathlessly. Sirius was grinning happily as he pulled the bike into the garage.

He put down the kickstand, swung his leg over, and got off the bike. Luna, however, sat where she was, waiting for warmth to spread through her body. "I think that is the absolute sexiest thing I have ever seen in my entire life."

Luna glanced up at him in question to see him staring at her with his jaw dropped open. Then she looked down at herself. Her legs were numb from the cold air, but she had insisted on wearing a skirt just for this reason. She wanted Sirius to have this view.

She leaned back just a bit and her already short black skirt moved even higher up her legs, showing off the creamy skin of her thighs all the way up almost to her knickers. She took the helmet off and shook out her long black hair.

"Going to keep fucking me with your eyes, Black?" she teased as she swung her leg up higher than was necessary to make sure he got a clear view of her red lace-clad center while she got off the bike.

"I would love to fuck you with more than just my eyes, but we agreed to make that moment special, didn't we?" His voice was a low rumble in her ear as he pulled her to him and buried his face into the crook of her neck as he kissed her there.

"Hmm," she hummed happily in response, curling her body around his.

"Of all the places and times you could have ended up," he whispered, "It's like you were sent here by some divine plan just for me."

"If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that I was meant to have this time with you. I was meant to love you," she told him unashamedly.

Sirius twisted his fingers into her hair and pulled her head back so he could press their lips together. Luna groaned when his tongue slid between her lips, and his hands moved down to grip her bum firmly, pulling her even tighter against him.

"Am I interrupting something?" James asked casually as he entered the garage.

"No, mate, what's up?" Sirius's voice was still low and full of lust, which James must have noticed because he crinkled his nose, feeling a bit awkward to hear his friend use such a tone.

"Yes," Luna corrected, "you are interrupting something. Sirius was just about to push my knickers aside and take me right here," she took a step back to pat the seat of the motorcycle.

Sirius growled to show his appreciation for her statement. "Well Mum saw you two come back and wanted me to come and get you. Apparently she needs all of our opinions on decorations for the party."

"Party?" asked Luna.

"Every year we have a New Year's Eve party here," James explained, "it keeps Mum's family from getting too fed-up with our blood traitor ways if we host a party for the most elite wizarding families," he said this in a fake-uppity accent and with an elegant flourish of his hand.

"Do I need a party dress? I didn't bring one. Maybe I should go shopping…" she mentally calculated how much money she still had from the gold Dumbledore had given to her at the start of term. She still needed to get Christmas presents for her friends, too.

Sirius's eyes lit up at the idea. "Excellent idea, doll! I'll take you!"

Luna knew what was behind his enthusiasm; the idea of her modeling less-than-modest dresses for him to inspect. "I think I'd rather go with another girl, thanks," she patted his cheek affectionately.

James began to form a plan. If he could get Luna to leave the manor and come back without Sirius then he could know for sure which of the two of them was getting past their wards.

"Here's an idea, Luna. Why don't you go pick up Lily on Christmas Day for me? I bet she'd want a new dress, too. I'll even give both of you the gold for the dresses. You can go pick her up from her house and take her shopping."

"But I thought you wanted to meet her family?" asked Luna.

"I do, but I can meet them when I drop her off at home after New Year's."

Filled with excitement, Luna clapped her hands together and asked with a broad smile, "Are you sure? You're okay with that?"

"Absolutely." Luna squealed and hugged James at his words of assurance.

James decided right then that he would put off worrying about the Luna problem until he knew for sure if she was the one who the wards were letting through. He still fervently hoped that it was Sirius as Sirius was an honorary Potter.

….

The week passed by quickly and before they knew it, it was Christmas Eve. The Potters had a tradition of giving Sirius and James each one gift the day before Christmas. The five of them; Charlus, Dorea, Sirius, James, and Luna, sat in a quaint sitting room where a small Christmas tree was set up.

There was a much larger Christmas tree in the ballroom where they would hold the New Year's party, but tonight was about family. There was a fire roaring away in the large grate and Luna found herself yet again overwhelmed with emotion.

Dorea flicked her wand and three presents appeared; one in front of each of the teenagers. "Oh, Dorea," said Luna, oddly touched by the gesture. "You didn't have to get anything for me. I honestly wasn't expecting anything. Letting me stay here with your family during the holiday is a gift in itself."

"Oh, it's nothing, dear," said Mrs. Potter fondly. Over the past week she'd grown quite fond of the girl. She was still of the opinion that her husband's brother had an illegitimate child and that Luna was their niece.

Luna proved to be helpful, polite, and charming. Not to mention the way she managed James and Sirius. Dorea still laughed to herself when she thought of the day before when Luna had scolded both boys for not helping Dorea set up the ballroom for the party. She'd somehow gotten both boys to give their mother a heartfelt apology and they made it up to her by going to get the enormous Christmas tree.

"Wow, Mum!" James cried as he pulled his gift out of the box to get a better look at it. Luna glanced over to see James holding a broom polishing kit.

She smiled at him and moved to open her own gift. She peeled the lid back and gasped in surprise. Nestled into the silk lining of a small jewelry box was a thin golden chain. The charm on the chain was a delicate golden heart with the Potter family crest, complete with the Potter family motto. "_Confortare Cor_," she read aloud.

"Courageous heart," James translated for her unnecessarily. Luna popped the locket open. There were places for two pictures. It was larger than most necklaces she wore, but it was the most perfect and beautiful gift she'd ever been given.

"Thank you," she said quietly, feeling like words wouldn't be enough to express her gratitude. "May I ask why you would give me such a sentimental gift?"

"I have two of them," said Charlus gruffly. "That one belonged to my sister, Charlotte. The other one belonged to my mother. The one that belonged to my mother we're going to give to Lily tomorrow."

"Mum, Dad," said James, "Those are really important family heirlooms, what if…" he trailed off knowing they would understand. What if things didn't work out between Sirius and Luna? What if things didn't work out between him and Lily? Neither couple had been together very long.

But Charlus and Dorea Potter knew better. They'd seen Sirius interact with the girl all week. They knew that the two of them wouldn't leave each other. Then there was James who had talked about Lily Evans since his very first day at Hogwarts. That was yet another couple they were sure of.

"Give us some credit, James," Dorea chuckled. "They are charmed. I'm sorry, dear," she told Luna, "but if you and Sirius split up, and you're not a direct Potter descendant, the necklace will return to us here."

"That's quite alright," Luna said with assurance. Even if Sirius left her, she was a Potter. This necklace belonged to her. It was almost more than she could handle emotionally right then. "Sirius?"

Sirius hadn't said anything since they opened their gifts. "This is…" he was staring at the small box in his hand. "Are you sure?"

"Of course we're sure," said Dorea as she brushed his long dark hair back over his forehead. "James was just saying the other day that you're an honorary Potter, so why not?"

Sirius gently pulled the ring out of the box and held it out for Luna to inspect. Like her, Sirius received a Potter family heirloom as a Christmas gift. It was a ring identical to the one on James's finger. It, too, had the Potter family crest and motto.

With absolutely no warning, Sirius launched himself off of the floor and hugged Dorea tightly. When he released her, he hugged Charlus just as enthusiastically. "Thank you both so much."

"Alright, everyone, I think it's time we get to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a big day! Luna has to go pick up Lily, then they're going dress shopping, and it's Christmas so that means Tilly and Tippy will make quite the feast, then…"

"Okay, Mum," James cut her off as he bent down to kiss her cheek. "We get it. We'll go to bed. Love you, see you in the morning!" and he trotted off up the stairs.

"Goodnight, Dorea, Charlus," Luna hugged both of them and hoped she conveyed her emotions to them in her hugs. She and Sirius and climbed the stairs hand-in-hand.

"That was very nice of them," she said as she stroked her locket lovingly.

"Yes it was. They must know how much I love you to do something so special for you," he told her as he pulled her to him and brushed a soft kiss on her forehead. They were at his bedroom door now and Luna had grown very accustomed to the room over the past week.

His bed was on a raised dais in the center of the room. It was a large four-poster bed, but the drapes around it were a sheer white so you could see through them even when they were closed.

In the corner by the window he had a broomstick and there were several personal items strewn about on a dresser. There was a fireplace in every bedroom of the house and the house elves kept this one burning all the time.

Sirius kept the window open all the time, too. He liked the breeze while he slept and with the Potter's clever enchantments on the house, the air was never cold. Every night they were there Luna wondered if it was _the_ night. She knew Sirius was planning it because what bloke wouldn't be? He wanted her, she wanted him, and it was only a matter of time.

As he smirked down at her, she reached out and twisted the handle of his bedroom door, then pushed it open. To say the sight that met her eyes surprised her would be an understatement.

The normally roaring fire was dimmed down to just a light crackle. There was soft music playing on the wireless in the corner of the room and it made Luna smile to picture Sirius setting all of this up for her. The bed was neatly made and there were flowers strewn all around it, but they weren't roses as was usual for romantic settings. No, these were lilies. Like her name.

Oddly touched by the gesture she moved forward into the room and when she did candles she hadn't previously noticed lit up all around magically.

"I have decided that tonight is the night," his words sent delicious chills up her spine and desire coursed through her stronger than she had ever felt it before. She wanted this man more than she had ever thought was humanly possible.

"Candles?" she quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I'm nothing if not thorough," he said.

She giggled and took a few steps back, moving toward the bed. He closed the bedroom door and made sure it was locked even though nobody would come into his bedroom anyway. Luna watched with lust filled eyes as he stalked toward her. Once he reached her, he spread his large hands out on either side of her waist and pulled her to him, kissing her hard.

"Luna," Sirius pulled back, looking down at her with blazing eyes, "Wait."

"What's wrong?" her voice was calm and patient, but inside she was freaking out. If he really wanted to wait, if he didn't want to have sex with her, she was going to go crazy. She wanted him so badly she was hardly containing herself at the moment.

"I need you to know that I love you."

Her heart stopped. Part of it broke. Tears came pouring out of her eyes and she somehow managed to reply, "I do know that, and I love you, too." He was kissing her then with such intense passion that the room spun around her and she would have fallen to the ground if his strong arms hadn't supported her.

He led her to the bed and laid her out on it very gently. He hovered over top of her, laying sweet kisses all over her face and neck, "I love you, Lily Luna Granger," he rasped.

Luna froze with her hands in his hair, her face tilted up towards his. She had a fierce desire to hear him call her by her real name, not the fake one. "Potter," she corrected softy.

This time it was Sirius who froze. Anger and pain flashed across his features before he masked his emotions and asked, "What does James have to do with this?"

That was when she realized her mistake. Sirius thought she'd just called out his best mate's name while she was in bed with him. "No," she said, "My surname isn't Granger. It's Potter."

Sirius leaned back, away from her, and asked, "How is that possible?"

"You know that there is something strange about me, and that's what it is. My real name is Lily Luna Potter. You know that I came here from the future, but that's not how I know so much about you and everyone else. I knew about the Map and the fact that you're all Animagi because I am Lily Luna Potter. My father is Harry James Potter, and your best friend, James, is my grandfather. I'm sorry that I'm telling you all of this now, but I couldn't let you make love to me without you knowing the truth.

"I already told you that Dumbledore is working on a device to send me back to my own time, and as soon as it's finished I'll be leaving and going home. Forever. Sirius, whatever it is we have, it won't last. You're needed here in your time, and I'm needed in mine. Sirius Orion Black, when I came here, I didn't expect to fall in love with you, but I did, and I don't regret it. I still very much want you to make love to me, but you had to know who I am."

Luna pulled herself up and kissed him lightly on his lips, but he didn't respond. He sat there just looking at her, entirely dumbstruck. Shaking slightly, she said in a whisper, "If you don't want to see me anymore, I'll understand. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone the truth, but I couldn't lead you on anymore. I love you, and I will always love you, even when I return to my own time, but I understand if you can't continue our relationship."

"Is that what you think?" Sirius asked in a rough voice. He surprised her by pulling her body against his, cradling her in his arms, and whispered in her ear, "I am so glad you finally told me the truth, love, and it doesn't change how I feel about you. You're…you're James's granddaughter?"

Luna nodded in confirmation, still biting her lip nervously, waiting for him to freak out and become repulsed by her. But this didn't happen; instead he kissed her just below her ear and said in another whisper, "I love you, Lily Luna Potter. I don't care what time you're from. I don't care who your parents and grandparents are. All that matters to me is that you're here now with me and that you're mine."

She turned her head towards him and they kissed passionately. "Sirius," she moaned against his lips, "make love to me." A growl escaped him and he pushed her back onto the bed, using his body to press her delicately into the mattress. "Sweet Merlin, I love you," she gasped.

He supported his weight on one of his elbows and moved his other hand to her shirt, which he unbuttoned and pushed off of her. Aside from that, she was wearing a white muggle skirt and a blue tank top. Sirius let out a moan of longing just looking at her. Her midnight black hair practically glowed in the candlelight.

She pushed his button-up shirt off of him, as it had already been hanging open, leaving him in muggle jeans and a plain black t-shirt. She ran her hands up and down his chest, over the thin cloth that was concealing the muscles that she knew lay just beneath her fingertips. Sirius tugged her tank top off of her, leaving her in a lacey white bra and her white skirt. He looked down at her breasts and pure need rushed through him like never before. He ran a hand down her face, over her collarbone, to her breast which he grasped and she moaned in response.

Experimentally, he dipped his hand into the cup of her bra, feeling her bare breast fill his large hand, and a small shriek escaped her. He lowered the lower half of his body, fitting it between her legs, and rubbed their hips together. Impatient to be claimed by him, she tore his shirt off so that she was able to feel his strong chest and abs.

She splayed her hands over his muscled body, and he groaned, reveling in the sensations she was causing. Luna tugged at his belt, undoing it, unbuttoning his trousers, pulling the zipper down, and he assisted her in pulling them off. He kicked them onto the floor, leaving him in a pair of boxers.

Her eyes widened at the sight of his arousal, and she had to check to make sure she wasn't drooling. The anticipation was making her throb. She just wanted him inside of her. She needed to feel him inside of her. Luna needed to know that he felt the same way about her that she felt about him. That there was no one else for either of them except each other.

Sirius ran his hands down her body, creating goose bumps as they went, until they reached the elastic band of her skirt. With a smug smirk he dragged the skirt and her knickers down her legs and tossed them aside. He bent his head down to kiss her on the lips while his hands went around to her back. Helping him, she lifted her upper body off of the bed as he unclipped her bra and tugged it off of her so that she finally lay before him entirely naked.

For just a moment, Luna found herself to be oddly self-conscious. She had always thought that she looked good naked, but it was Sirius' opinion that mattered to her more than anyone else's. The hungry look that appeared in his eyes as he took in the sight of her naked body assured her that she was more than satisfying to him.

Her voluptuous breasts heaved up and down as her breathing sped up, and Sirius had to taste them. He dipped his head down and she squealed in pleasure as he took one of her nipples into his mouth. She squirmed and writhed beneath him as he continued his ministrations, massaging her, kissing her, sucking on her, nibbling, biting, and driving her crazy.

He pulled back so that his eyes could make several more trips up and down her body, appreciating every inch of her in the semi-darkness that surrounded them. "Sirius, please," she begged. "You're driving me crazy just looking at me like that."

"You're the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen in my entire life," his lips crashed against hers with such urgency that she squeaked in surprise before meeting his passion with her own. She had never snogged anyone quite like this. They were both moaning and gasping and running their hands over each other's bodies desperately.

Until, finally, his lithe fingers stroked the place where she needed him to touch her. Her body jerked beneath his and she couldn't help the sounds that escaped her when his fingers entered her, thrusting into her with a gentleness that surprised her.

Impatiently, she reached down and tugged his boxers off, as they joined the rest of their clothes on the floor. For a moment they both paused, looking at each other, and Sirius hoped that she was doing what he was doing; committing that moment to memory. Her dark hair framing her beautiful face, her chocolate brown eyes drowning in lust and love, her cheeks flushed red from what he was doing to her body, her chest heaving as she waited for him to enter her.

Luna couldn't believe what she was seeing. Sirius was poised just above her, their bodies just barely touching as her nipples brushed against his chest, his dark brown messy hair had her hands tangled in it, his grey eyes dark with need, his muscled body vibrating as he tried to take his time, and he was all hers. She tightened her grip in his hair and pulled his face to her, kissing him deeply.

Sirius lowered his body and she could feel his member brushing against her core. "Sirius," she moaned, "please don't tease me, love," she begged. Sirius shivered at the sound of her voice, so raspy and pleading.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked one last time as he pushed forward slightly, pressing his cock against her more firmly. He had to be sure. If he did something she was uncomfortable with, he would never forgive himself. To his immense relief, the woman beneath him kissed him and breathed the answer into his mouth. A silent, 'yes.'

He moved into her slowly, and Luna didn't move until he was all the way in her. Her body quivered at the feeling and she had never felt anything so _right._ She bucked her hips against his, and he responded accordingly. Together, they set the perfect pace and kept perfect rhythm. Their bodies rocked together as they kissed and touched each other.

Luna knew that Sirius would be an adventurous lover. That he would tease her relentlessly, that he would want to be kinky, wild, and audacious, but this time; their first time, would be sweet and sensual. It would really _mean _something. They made love for a long time, until Luna just couldn't hold back any longer.

"Sirius," she practically screamed his name as she came closer to her peak, "Faster, love, fuck me faster," she commanded, and he obeyed, picking up his pace. If he was being honest, he couldn't hold back much longer himself. His body was pressed tightly against hers as her arms and legs were wrapped around him. Her nails were biting deliciously into his arse, urging him on as he pounded into her quickly.

He was tugging gently on her hair, and she was practically screaming beneath him in pleasure. "Yes, Merlin, yes, Luna," Sirius wasn't even aware of the words falling out of his mouth as he lost himself completely in her. "You feel so good, love, don't stop. I'm so close, Lu-Lu, fuck me harder."

Luna reached her orgasm just a moment before Sirius, and together they rode out the waves of ecstasy that overcame them. Groaning and screaming, they lost themselves in each other, in a tangled mess of sweaty limbs and sheets. When they finally were able to think straight, she only vaguely noted that he was still buried deep inside of her.

"Sirius," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

"Hmm?" he mumbled, his face buried in her hair, his lips brushing against her ear.

"You're…wow. That was just…there aren't words for what that felt like."

"Lu-Lu, you are the most incredible witch I have ever met," he kissed her again, letting the kiss speak for him, and it spoke loud and clear. She knew from that one snog just how much he cared for her; how deeply he loved her.

Sirius pulled himself out of her with a groan and summoned a blanket over their naked bodies as they started drifting off into a peaceful sleep curled up together. Half-asleep and half-awake, Sirius was thinking about the secret she had revealed to him. Aloud, he said, "Don't leave me, Luna, please, just stay with me forever."

"I'll never leave you, Sirius. I can't. You have me; heart, mind, body and soul."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her tightly against his side, and fell asleep, for the first time in his life feeling completely whole. Feeling like nothing was missing. That his life was entirely perfect because the woman sleeping in his arms was perfect.

Sirius had never expected to meet a girl who he would fall in love with, but he had and it was more than he could've hoped for. It was almost weird that she was the descendant of James, but it was fitting. She had his arrogance, his sense of adventure, she was a Marauderette in all senses of the word and she was _his_. His perfect other half. The witch who perfected him in ways he had never known that he was incomplete.

…**.**

**A/N: How is Sirius going to react to this in the morning? Is he going to tell James? Even though I've had this chapter written for a long time I've actually been playing with it a lot because I wasn't sure exactly how I wanted it all to play out so please let me know if you liked it! **


	15. Ball at Potter Manor

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**WARNING: Language, light alcohol use, and sexual references in this chapter.**

…**.**

When Sirius woke up on Christmas morning he was surprised to find that the place in the bed next to him was empty. He lifted his head and glanced around but didn't see Luna anywhere. That was when he noticed the note on her pillow.

_Sirius,_

_I'm in the shower. Want me? Come and get me!_

Instead of a signature at the bottom of her note there were lip prints. With a devilish smirk Sirius practically ran to the lavatory that was attached to his bedroom. The sight that met his eyes made his jaw drop open.

She was standing under the showerhead with her back turned toward him, and he could see her form quite clearly through the clear glass of the shower door. As quietly as he could he made his way over to the shower, opened the door, stepped inside, and closed the shower door behind him.

Luna shivered when she felt his large hands on her shoulders, sliding down her arms and back up, but she had been expecting him to show up. She leaned her body back into his and watched as his hands moved to her sides, up her stomach, caressing her breasts expertly. Sirius might have been a virgin before last night, but he was no novice when it came to pleasing women. He'd done plenty of other things with girls in the past.

"Cold, love?" his deep voice teased as he licked the shell of her ear, biting down gently. Apparently her shiver hadn't escaped his notice.

"No, I am actually quite the opposite," she was almost embarrassed at how easily he affected her; she was already panting.

"Hmm, perhaps I can help you with that."

…

After a longer than usual shower, they emerged once again into his bedroom where they had left a small pile of gifts waiting at the foot of the bed. Sirius no longer received gifts from his family. Except for his cousin, Andromeda, who, like him, had been blasted off of the family tree.

Aside from Andromeda's gift, he also received small presents from Peter, James, and Remus. Luna likewise only had a few gifts. Mary, Alice, and Lily each sent her something and she was glad that she'd sent them each a note saying that their presents were on their way. They were on her shopping list.

"Blimey," said Sirius, "I must have been way too distracted last night to really take in what you told me. I just almost asked why you didn't get anything from your family."

She gave him a timid smile. "Distracted?"

"Very much so, you sneaky little vixen. I wanted you so badly that you probably could have told me you were an alien from another planet and I still would have shagged you."

Luna's mouth twitched as she almost laughed, but her worry was greater than her amusement. "Sirius, we still need to talk about it. Doesn't it bother you, at all, to know who I am?"

He gave her a steady look, staring deeply into her eyes. "No, it doesn't. I'll admit that it's a little odd when I think about it, but I don't see you as James's granddaughter. I see you as my girlfriend. The most beautiful and bold witch I've ever met."

"Well, I'm Lily's granddaughter, too," she said with wicked smirk.

Sirius's eyes widened. He hadn't given a thought as to who her grandmother might be. "Blimey," he said, "I can still hardly believe they're finally dating and you're telling me that they're going to have a son someday?"

"That's right," she told him confidently. "Where did you think I got my name? _Lily_ Luna Potter."

"I can't even begin to imagine how weird this all is for you," he told her with a laugh. "Let's _not_ tell James or Lily about this, yeah? I rather like my balls where they are and they might try to hex them off if they found out that I shagged their granddaughter."

Luna laughed and ran her fingers through his wet locks. "Agreed."

…..

Luna rapped on the door twice and waited. It was pulled open almost immediately by a much younger version of her great-aunt Petunia. "Who are you?" she asked with a crinkle of her nose.

"Hullo, my name's Luna. I'm here to pick up Lily. Aren't you going to invite me in?" she asked cheerfully as she bounced on the balls of her feet. Petunia was purposefully blocking her entry into the house.

"Perhaps it would be best for you to wait for her on the porch," Petunia motioned toward the porch swing, which was covered by a light dusting of snow.

Knowing Petunia's aversion to all things magical, Luna said loudly, "Afraid I might burn the house down? No worries, I'm exceptionally prodigious with MAGIC. No accidental SPELL CASTING here. My WAND is safely tucked away-"

"Shut up!" Petunia grabbed her arm, glanced nervously around to see if any of the neighbors were listening, then yanked her into the house.

"Oh, you must Lily's friend!" Mrs. Evans was just coming down the stairs with a basket of laundry in her arms.

"Yes, I'm Luna," she said politely.

"It's so lovely to meet you. You can take a seat, Lily is almost ready. She told me that you two are going shopping today?"

"Yes, I know it's Christmas Day, but most wizarding shops are still open and several muggle ones as well. Then we're going to Potter Manor."

"And James will be bringing her back on New Year's Day?" Inquired Mrs. Evans as she tucked a stray blonde hair behind her ear.

"That's right. He's looking forward to meeting you all very much. His parents are looking forward to meeting her, too. They've never seen James so taken with a girl."

Mrs. Evans smiled fondly. "They're wizards?"

"Yes, his entire family are wizards and witches. He hasn't been around many muggles before so be patient with him," Luna advised.

Before they could talk anymore, Lily came down the stairs with a knapsack on her back and a small duffle bag in one hand. "Hey, Luna!" Lily said with a smile.

"Hey, Lils, let me take care of those for you," Luna brandished her wand and vanished Lily's luggage. "There, now Tilly and Tippy can deal with them."

"Who?"

"The Potter's house elves."

"Oh, thanks! Alright, Mum, Tuney, I'll see you both in a week!"

"Do you have your purse?"

"Yes, Mum."

"Can't you stay there for the rest of the holidays?"

"Tunia!"

"What? It doesn't hurt to ask."

"Since you're so eager to be away from me, why don't _you _go stay with Vernon's family?" Lily retorted scathingly. Petunia hissed like an angry cat.

"Come on, Lily, there's this great little dress shop in Diagon Alley that I'm just dying to check out," Luna gave her friend a meaningful look.

"Yeah, alright," Lily hugged her mum tightly, gave Petunia a dirty look, and left with Luna. "Are we going to Disapparate?" asked Lily.

"Yes, but there are some muggles watching us down the street, so let's keep walking just a bit further," Luna muttered.

Lily was excited as she linked her arm with Luna's and let her Apparate them to Diagon Alley. There were a lot of wizards and witches wandering about on Christmas Day in the bustling street.

As they entered the first shop, Lily gazed around and said with amusement, "Magic is amazing, isn't it?"

…

As it turned out, finding dresses was much easier and less time consuming than they thought it would be. Lily ended up with an emerald green dress that was floor length, tight fitting, with a slit up the side that reached mid-thigh, and had a halter top.

Luna chose a gown that was gold, sleeveless, and barely reached her knee. Both girls agreed that they looked smashing, purchased the dresses, and eagerly started toward the other shops. Lily Evans very rarely got to enter the magical world as her family was comprised completely of muggles.

Luna didn't have much money and absolutely refused to tell people this, as everyone (except for Sirius and Severus) believed that she had an aunt and brother. The money from Dumbledore had actually went a very long way and she made a mental note to pay him back if she ever could.

For Mary, she bought a bra that magically enhanced your boob size while you wore it. If you wore the bra for twelve hours, then removed it, for twelve hours after that your boobs would remain at the enhanced size.

"She'll love you!" Lily declared as she watched Luna purchase the undergarment.

Alice was a bit trickier to shop for but in the end she chose what she hoped would be a good gift for her friend. It was a jewelry box with an Undetectable Extension Charm on it so even though it was small, it could hold all of the jewelry Alice could ever own. It also played a nice melody when you opened the lid.

Since Lily was with Luna, she let her pick out her own present. It was a simple but elegant hair clip that matched the dress she just bought. The emerald jewels went beautifully with her red hair while bringing out her eyes.

Sirius's gift was, surprisingly, the easiest one for her to find. The moment she saw the objects she knew that Sirius _had _to have them. Ironically, if she split up the gift, it would be her present for James as well. Yes, this was perfect. After making her purchases, the girls were ready to leave.

"Are his parents nice?" Lily asked nervously.

"Very."

"Do you think they'll like me?"

"No, I think they'll love you." Luna gave her friend a reassuring nod before Apparting them to the front gates.

…..

James Potter hadn't left this position all day. He had no idea how long the girls would spend shopping, but he wasn't about to leave even for a moment. He had to see, with his own eyes, that it was in fact Luna getting through the protective enchantments and not Sirius.

"What are you doing, mate?" asked Sirius as he tried, yet again, to draw James away from the window and actually _do _something.

"I've already told you. I want to be right there as soon as Lily arrives. I can't wait to see her. Unlike you, I haven't been sharing a bed with my girlfriend for the past week."

Sirius chuckled. "I'm sure as soon as they get here you'll know. Now come on. At least drag your pathetic arse away from the window long enough for me to beat you one time at wizard's chess."

"They're here!" James leapt to his feet and pressed his face so closely to the window that his nose was touching the glass. Luna and Lily appeared just beyond the border, straightened their clothes; he grinned as he watched Lily nervously straighten the scarf around her throat. They stepped toward the gate and –

It was as if the gate wasn't even there. James's heart fell. It _was_ Luna who was somehow circumventing the charms. Not Sirius. He had been hoping so badly that they wouldn't be able to get in without him going to let them in. But now they were almost to the front door. He hurried to ruffle his hair purposefully and sprint downstairs.

"Lily!"

"James!"

And then they were snogging as if they hadn't seen each other in months as opposed to days.

Luna rolled her eyes at Sirius, gesturing to their friends and Sirius gave her a shrug. "Alright, come on, plenty of time for that later!" Luna encouraged. She had the vague feeling that perhaps watching her grandparents snog like horny teenagers should be a bit disconcerting. But they didn't feel like her grandparents, and technically, they weren't yet. They were her friends.

"I have gifts!" Luna added happily as she held up a shopping bag.

"Aw, for me?" James teased. "You shouldn't have!"

"Actually, I do have a gift for you!" Luna extracted two identically wrapped parcels and handed one to James and one to Sirius. "This is Sirius's gift but I decided to give the other half to you."

They tore them open with excitement and stared at them blankly. "Erm – thanks?" Sirius said awkwardly.

"Are you trying to tell me something? Like maybe that I'm a bit conceited?" James held up the rectangular mirror in question.

"You two are such idiots. Do you not see the brilliance? They're two-way mirrors!"

Comprehension dawned on the boys and without saying a word in explanation, they each took off in an opposite direction. A few minutes later they reappeared. "These are amazing," James enthused as he hugged Luna. "They work perfectly!"

Luna had no idea what she'd done. She didn't know that at some point in the future her father would come in possession of the mirror currently in James's hand. She didn't know that Aberforth would eventually own Sirius's. She didn't know that she was the one who provided such significant aid to defeating Voldemort.

To her, it was just a thoughtful Christmas present. "Thank you," Sirius gently gripped her chin with his thumb and forefinger and tilted her face up so he could kiss her heatedly.

"Look at them," Lily clucked her tongue. "Looks like somebody lost his virginity recently," she waggled her eyebrows at Sirius. Sirius pulled his lips away from Luna's and glanced at Lily in confusion. "Oh come on! It's obvious. You two have that we-shag-now look in your eyes when you stare at each other."

Lily didn't know why this made her feel oddly uncomfortable but she knew that James felt it, too, when he shifted from foot to foot. What was it about this couple that made both of them not jealous, but feel like it was difficult to accept?

Trying to hide his true feelings, James smirked at his best mate, clapped him on the shoulder, and said genially, "It's about bloody time, Padfoot!"

…..

As it turned out, Mr. and Mrs. Potter loved Lily Evans. She fit in surprisingly well with his parents and they eagerly found much in common. After dinner, the four friends spent some time talking, discussing the upcoming party, and then went their separate ways for bed.

"Is it weird for you to see them like this? So young and immature? Or are they always so immature?" There was a playful smile on his lips. Luna's heart skipped a beat. He still didn't know about their fates. The only thing she had told him was that he was dead in her time. That he was killed by Death Eaters. But he didn't know about James and Lily. Nor could she tell him. It would change the future too much.

"Nah," she gave a tiny shrug, "I don't see them as my grandparents. They're my mates. James and Lily."

"I know that you can't tell me about the future much, but tell me about your real family and what you actually enjoy doing in your time," they were in bed together, facing each other and lying on their sides.

Lily twirled her long black hair in her hands and played with the ends as she began by reciting facts. "My dad is Harry James Potter. He is the Head Auror at the Auror Office-"

"What does he look like?"

"Exactly like James, but with Lily's eyes," Sirius smiled, encouraging her to continue. "He's the best dad in the whole world. He taught me how to ride a broomstick before I could even walk. Family is the most important thing to him. He was a Gryffindor, of course. He was the youngest player on a house team in a century – he played Seeker on the Gryffindor House Team every year he attended Hogwarts."

Luna stopped. She knew that she couldn't tell him much about her father. Sirius didn't seem to notice her hesitation. "And your mum?"

"My mum is Ginevra Molly Weasley. She was a Chaser on the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch Team after Hogwarts. When she and dad decided to start a family, she retired and began writing a sport's column in the paper. She's very pretty, but I guess I'm a bit biased as she is my mum."

"And you have a brother?"

"Two, actually," Luna grinned broadly. "You're going to like this; my oldest brother is James _Sirius_ Potter. He's a lot like your-best-mate-James. Looks a lot like him, too, except he doesn't wear glasses. After he left Hogwarts, he played professional Quidditch for a while but now he's in training to be a Curse Breaker for Gringotts."

"And…Al?" Albus was the brother she had written the letter to that Sirius had read. She seemed to favor him over James; she talked about Al more and wrote a letter to him.

"I don't have a favorite," she said teasingly as if she could read his mind. "Honestly, I don't. James and Albus are both wonderful brothers but- "

"Albus?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, Albus. Dad was really close to Headmaster Dumbledore. Anyway, I love my brothers equally and I enjoy being around James just as much as Albus, but Albus is closer to me in age so we've always been just a bit closer. Al has Lily's eyes; those almond-shaped green ones that make me jealous because I wish I inherited them. But I have my mum's brown ones."

"What does Al do?"

"Albus is just like dad. He's in Auror training and I think that once he finishes his training and gets a few years of experience dad will retire and leave the Head Auror position to Albus."

"Mmm, sounds like a nice family," Sirius mumbled sleepily as he rolled onto his back and snaked an arm under her back, tugging her closer to him. "Any aunts and uncles?"

"Yes, but all on my mum's side. My dad is the only child that James and Lily had. Lots of cousins."

Sirius pulled her against him tightly and, half-asleep, he whispered, "I'm glad that when you leave me, you'll have a lot of other people to go home to who love you."

…

"Lily?" James and Lily were still catching their breath as they snuggled under the covers of his bed.

"Yes, love?" her voice was rough and she sounded sated. James's body tingled with pride at hearing it.

"Can I talk with you about something that has been bothering me? It's just…I don't want you to repeat it or think I'm crazy or…"

"James," she rolled so that she was sprawled on his chest and placed one finger over his lips. "You can tell me anything. I won't tell anyone and I already know you're crazy."

With a soft smile, James exhaled sharply. "Alright. Here goes. I think there is something off about Luna."

"Of course there is," said Lily quickly in agreement. "She knows more than she should, she _appeared_ out of nowhere in the middle of Hogsmeade, unconscious, and Dumbledore claims that her parents just died and she was previously homeschooled? She certainly didn't appear to be grieving or having trouble with adjusting, that's for damn sure. But I don't think anyone except maybe Voldemort himself is capable of fooling Dumbledore. If he trusts her, then I trust her. She's been nothing but a friend to me."

"But what do we really know about her? She doesn't talk about her parents-"

"Maybe that part was truth. Maybe they really have recently died and they're a sensitive topic for her. What's brought this on anyway, James? Has she done something to make you suspicious?"

"Well, yes," glad that he could finally talk about this with someone he sat up, hauling Lily up with him and stroked her hair as he spoke. "There's a powerful enchantment on this place. Nobody except a Potter can enter the premise. Yet she struts over the border without a problem…"

"I don't understand," said Lily with a frown.

"We've studied all sorts of protective enchantments in Charms as well as DADA, right?"

"Right."

"Well, we have a lot placed on the mansion and grounds. Nobody should be able to come in unless they have the surname Potter or are escorted by a Potter."

"Oh," her eyes widened. "But when we arrived, Luna walked right through the gates…"

"Exactly."

"So, what is it then? You must have a theory."

"I have two, actually," he gave her a rueful grin. "My first guess is that she is some estranged love-child of my dad's brother. Perhaps she found out her true parentage and decided to attend Hogwarts. Maybe she Apparated to Hogsmeade, but misjudged the distance so she fainted in exhaustion upon arrival. Then, after explaining the situation to Dumbledore, maybe he agreed to let her go to school with us. It's possible."

"Yes, it is," agreed Lily, surprised and impressed that James had thought this through so carefully. "And your second guess?"

"My second guess is…blimey, this is hard to even say, but what if she's working for Voldemort? What if she is a Death Eater? What if she knows enough Dark Magic to get around the wards surrounding our property and that she has somehow fooled Dumbledore? After all, she was hanging around Severus Snape a lot – sorry, I know he's still a sore spot for you – and I am concerned for Sirius."

"That's quite a theory, James Potter," Lily mused, feeling suddenly unsafe and squirming in his arms to press herself against his chest.

"Unfortunately, it makes more sense though. Because even if she was my cousin, how would she have such knowledge of us? She must have been spying on us. If her intentions were innocent, why spy?"

"Maybe she's a strong Legillimens."

"No," James shook his head, not even bothering to consider this explanation. "I would know if she was."

"How?" Lily demanded.

"I'm a really power Occlumens. If she tried to penetrate my mind, I would have felt it."

Lily laughed. "For as smart as you are, James, you can be very thick sometimes. You are an exceptionally prodigious wizard. So you are an Occlumens. Maybe Sirius is, too, but I know Remus isn't. Nor Peter. What if she looked into one of their minds?"

"Oh," said James thoughtfully. "Hmm."

"Yes, hmm indeed," teased Lily with a chuckle.

"Still, even if you're right, why use Legillimancy against any of us? It would be an intrusive thing to do."

"Are there any other possible explanations?"

"Unfortunately, no. No, there's not."

….

Luna woke up on the morning of December 31st feeling cold and knew why before even opening her eyes. Sirius had actually woken up before her for once. Smirking she cracked her eyes open and found her lover on the other side of the room, obviously just having taken a shower. His back was to her, and still wet with little water droplets clinging to those rippling muscles. She bit her lower lip as she glanced him over in appreciation.

His black hair was dripping onto his shoulders and he swept it back out of his eyes with one hand as he used his other hand to button his trousers. "_Oh, oh oh,_" he sang softly, unaware of his audience, "_Witch you're under my skin like a spell, baby I'm so smitten, can't you tell? Don't leave me now, when we're so close, and I'm so lucky that I'm the wizard you chose…_"

He picked his wand up and with a gentle wave his hair was dry. He shook his head back and forth rapidly and when he stopped his hair fell perfectly in place. Luna sat up, letting the blanket slip from her upper body and fall into her lap, exposing her red lace bra, which was the only clothing item she wore.

"Good morning," said Sirius with a smile as he turned toward her.

Luna yawned, "Mmm, morning, Black," she purposefully let her eyes glide down the solid planes of his chest down to his lean hips where the jeans he wore hung perfectly before sliding back up and giving him a flirty wink.

"Now, now, behave yourself, _Potter_. We don't have time for any of that this morning. You can't tell me you didn't get your fill last night."

"Oh, I got filled alright," she shifted so her breasts stuck out more prominently and tossed her long hair over her shoulder.

Sirius raised his eyebrows and with a thrill of victory she saw a bulge in his trousers that hadn't been there a moment ago. "Don't tease me, darling, we really don't have time, or I would already be on top of you."

"With the mood I'm in, it's more likely you'd be _under_ me."

Sirius groaned. "Any minute now, James is going to-"

As if on cue there was a sharp knock on the door. "Oi! If you two are indecent, get your arses dressed and downstairs! Mum is going mad. She needs us to help Tilly and Tippy with the food for tonight!"

"We're coming!" called Sirius.

"Although not in the way I'd like to be," Luna mumbled.

Sirius shot her a wicked grin full of promise. "Later."

….

Luna was used to going to grand balls. With all of her family being so intricately involved in several branches of the Ministry and her father being – well – Harry bloody Potter, she went to many fancy gatherings. So this was perfectly normal to her.

Lily, however, was panicking. "Oh, damn, I think I put on too much eye shadow! What do you think?"

"Here, let me," Luna swept a cloth over Lily's eyelids, removing the extra bit of makeup and smoothing out the rest. "Perfect. You look gorgeous, Lily."

"Thanks. I'm so nervous. What if I do something wrong?"

"It's just a party," said Luna with a laugh as she swept some deep red lipstick across her lips and puckered her lips at the mirror.

"Yes, a party with a lot of prominent wizards. Most of which probably want me and anyone like me dead." Lily ran her hands over her dress fretfully.

Luna paused half-way through applying her mascara and turned to Lily with a frown. When she was younger and her family would tell her about how prejudiced wizards and witches used to be about muggle-borns she always thought they were exaggerating. But they weren't and Lily was right. Most of the wizards and witches in attendance were purebloods who would like nothing more than to eradicate the muggle-born population entirely.

"Listen to me," Luna took Lily's hands in hers and said very seriously. "James will be by your side the entire night. He loves you very much. You'll be just fine. I'm not going to lie. A lot of people probably will hate you on sight simply for who your parents are, but I doubt any of them would be dare raise a wand against you in such a formal and public setting. But if they do, Merlin help them, because I will do my best to tear them limb from fucking limb. Got it?"

Lily nodded, her green eyes wide, and the girls hugged. "Love you, Luna."

"Love you, too, Lily."

….

The party was just starting as the girls descended the staircase. A few of the faces were just a bit familiar to Luna while others she recognized without any trouble. "Alice!" she called.

Alice Fortescue spun around to embrace her friends. "Thanks so much for the musical jewelry box, Luna! And for the bracelet, Lily!" Lily Evans had given Alice, Mary, and Luna, each a friendship bracelet for Christmas. All three girls wore theirs now and it was strange that Mary was missing. They'd all become accustomed to being a quartet.

Mary MacDonald, however, had other plans to visit Remus's family to ring in the new year. "Ah, you must be Luna," A tall man with light brown hair held out his hand to her. Luna stared. He looked _so much_ like her Uncle Neville. Then again, so did Alice. Their son, Luna knew, would have Alice's face but with Frank's height, build, and smile.

"Nice to meet you, you must be Frank."

"Yes," his height contrasted almost comically with how tiny Alice was, but before Luna could talk to him further, Sirius stepped into the conversation.

"First and foremost, let me say that it has been too long, Frank!" The two engaged in a quick half-hug. "I can't believe you didn't tell me that you shagged on McGonagall's desk!"

Frank flushed and looked at Alice in surprise but she just gave him a small shrug and sipped at her drink. "Er – it was just the once."

Sirius laughed. "Secondly…Merlin's pants, Lu-Lu, you look bloody _smashing_."

Luna gave him a broad smile and held out her hand with a formal curtsey. "You look dashing yourself, dear."

Sirius swiped his lips across her knuckles and used his grip on her hand to pull her to him and press a soft kiss to her neck. "Mmm, new perfume? Godric, I can't wait to pull this off of you later tonight."

Luna giggled quietly and put her hands on his chest. "Well you're going to have to admire it _on _me for a few more hours."

"Gladly. Honestly, you look ravishing."

"Thank you," she went up on the tips of her toes to press a kiss to his jaw. James came up to them then, with a small frown on his lips while he watched Sirius and Luna interact. Then he saw Lily and all else was forgotten.

"Bloody hell!"

Lily blushed and James blinked, removed his glasses to clean them on his dress robes, and put them back on his face. "See something you like?" she teased as she turned in a full circle, being sure to show off the slit in her dress that revealed so much of her leg.

"Lily, you know that I love everything about you all the time, but that dress shows off all of your finest assets and I have half a mind to ask you to change just so none of the other blokes in here think they can steal you away from me!"

Lily quirked an eyebrow at him. "I doubt they'd want me the moment they found out my heritage."

Alice squeaked in fright and motioned for Lily to be quiet, but James waved away Alice's concern. "I don't care if she announces it to everyone in the room. She's the most talented, beautiful, and intelligent witch I've had the pleasure of meeting. No offense to Alice or Luna of course. But it makes no difference to me who your parents are, and if anyone here says differently then they can clear out."

Lily beamed at him and without further conversation James swept her out onto the dance floor. Frank and Alice followed. "Want to dance?" Sirius asked.

"No," Luna sighed and picked up a glass of champagne that was floating magically on a tray by her elbow. "I don't enjoy dancing much."

"That's only because you've never done it with me! Are you rubbish at it?"

"No, I'm a really good dancer! I just don't like it."

"Too bad, we're dancing."

"Sirius!"

"Lu-Lu!" he tugged her by the hand out onto the floor. She held up her drink, as if to say 'how can I dance while holding this?' entirely unconcerned, Sirius snatched it from her and tossed it over his shoulder. It vanished magically before it hit the ground.

Within moments most of the eyes in the room were on the pair. The music that was playing was classical, formal, and sophisticated, but the way they danced wasn't. It was and odd mixture of a waltz and the type of dancing Luna did with her cousins when they went to that muggle club one time in London.

She found herself unconsciously running her hands up and down his back and hiking one leg up onto his hip as held her leg just below her knee and spun them around. He dipped her low, ran his hand down her calf, pulled her back up, spun them around again, then winked at her before pulling back, taking her hand and spinning her around several times before hauling her body against his and grinding his pelvis into hers deliciously.

"Erm – ahem," Dorea was beside them in an instant, her eyes barely hiding her suppressed amusement. "I believe you're making some of our guests uncomfortable, son," she chided.

"Sorry," he looked anything but sorry as he said it. "We'll dance appropriately."

"You'd better," she wagged a finger at him and then disappeared into the crowd.

"So who all is here?" asked Luna as she placed her hand on his shoulder and they began a simple two-step.

"Let's see. That's the Minister of Magic, Lorraine Ogden, and her husband, Mitchell. Alice's parents over there. Frank's parents and brother – watch out for his mum, she's a real firecracker for an old bird. Um, Head Auror Paul McLaggen, a few other prominent Ministry officials, a lot of Dorea's family, ah, I see my lovely cousins over there – Bellatrix and Narcissa. Unfortunately Andromeda wasn't invited because Dorea thought it might cause a fight. Narcissa's fiancé, Lucius, Bellatrix's husband, Rodolphus and his brother, Rabastan…"

"Okay, that's enough," Luna felt sick and when Sirius tore his gaze away from the fellow guests at Potter Manor he saw that she had a green tint to her face.

"Did I say something…?"

"They're Death Eaters," Luna hissed, her eyes glancing back and forth between Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Lily, as if prepared to jump between them if either of the former tried to attack.

"Are they?" commented Sirius conversationally. "I'm not surprised."

Luna barely bit back the words, '_and one of them kills you!_' as she forced herself to continue dancing. Sirius's murderer was in this very room. Luna wondered just how badly she would mess up the future if she killed Bellatrix Lestrange tonight. If she went to Azkaban for murder to save Sirius.

The only thing that kept her from doing so was knowing that if she changed anything, one tiny little thing, it could result in her father's death. So many small tiny details had come into play to help him defeat Voldemort that she dared not meddle. Little did she know that she'd already been there. Nothing she did in the past altered the future because she'd already been there. Her every move just solidified it.

"I hope they're dead or in Azkaban in the future," he said as he brushed his lips over her ear.

Luna gave him a frown. "You know that I can neither confirm nor deny that hope, Sirius."

"But you still know. Whether you tell me or not, it's right up here," he brought his hand, which was twined with hers, up to tap her temple lightly.

With trembling lips, Luna leaned forward and whispered in one breath, "Bellatrix kills you."

When she leaned back to get a look at his face, he appeared to be surprised but then unconcerned. "And you're barely restraining yourself from walking over and plugging her in the heart with a knife right now, aren't you?"

"You know me too well."

"Yes, well, don't do it. You can't mess with the past."

"You sound like you don't mind."

"Honestly, I don't. I mean, better Bellatrix than someone else right? At least I can admit that she's a prodigious witch. It would have been bloody embarrassing to be taken out by someone like Nott or Avery," he screwed up his nose in disgust.

As she realized that he was actually being playful about this, Luna stepped back out of his arms and gazed at him. "You want to die, don't you?" she accused angrily, her hands balled into fists at her sides. "You damn reckless fool! How can you be so callous about this?" she hissed as she knew her words to be true. Sirius sincerely didn't mind dying. Luna reared back and slapped him across the face so loud that most guests stopped to watch the arguing lovers.

"Lu-Lu," he growled lightly.

"Don't," she warned, aware of all eyes on them. "Don't," she repeated while her entire body shook with anger and despair. With tears welling in her big brown eyes, she turned and sprinted out of the ballroom.

…..

"Full moon tonight," said James quietly to Sirius. Sirius was downing his fifth glass of firewhiskey.

"Did you talk to Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, Mary is staying with his parents and Remus will go to his usual place. You know, the forest by the-"

"Yes, I know," Sirius snapped.

"Sorry, mate. Do you want to talk about what happened with-"

"No."

"Listen," said James as he sat next to his best mate at the bar his parents had provided for the party. The bartender behind the counter tactfully moved further away from them and began taking drink orders from other guests. "I've been meaning to talk to you about her for a while. Sirius, I really think that there is something she's hiding from us. I'm really concerned about you and if you look at it logically-"

"James, mate, I appreciate your concern, but please just sod off. She's my witch and I know what I'm doing."

James rolled his eyes. Perhaps approaching a pissed Sirius wasn't the best time to initiate this conversation. "There are protective wards around my house, Sirius," he admitted grudgingly, glancing around to make sure others weren't eavesdropping. "Luna should not be able to get onto these grounds at all unless her surname is Potter or she's using really Dark Magic."

"Is that right? Hmm, interesting," Sirius said this as if it weren't the least bit interesting to him at all.

Giving up, James growled, "We'll talk about this more when you're sober. If you want to run with us, meet Peter and I at the edge of the forest at midnight."

…

James saw his parents on the other side of the room and very slowly made his way over to them as he was stopped many times by many people talking with him, asking how school is going, what is he going to do after Hogwarts, who is the pretty witch who hasn't left his side all evening, and so on.

When he finally reached them, he realized they were talking with Gideon and Fabian Prewett. They had been in their seventh year when James entered Hogwarts as a first year, and he well remembered Gideon and Fabian Prewett pulling pranks around the Gryffindor common room.

"Hullo, James," said Gideon happily as they shook hands.

"Gideon. Fabian," James politely nodded at them and the conversation continued.

"I think we should," Dorea said imploringly to her husband. Charlus Potter stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"I agree. As long as Dumbledore has formed the Order of the Phoenix then I'm behind it. Consider Dorea and I official members. We might be getting on a bit but we're not entirely useless."

"Every witch or wizard who joins is a great help, Charlus," Fabian said sincerely.

"Your sister, Molly, is she in the Order?"

"No," answered Gideon. "You know she's married to Arthur Weasley and they have three children with twins on the way."

"Merlin! That poor woman!" said Dorea sympathetically. "I had a hard enough time dealing with one toddler!"

The twin Prewett brothers grinned before Fabian asked, "What about you James? Going to join up after Hogwarts? That's a pretty witch you have on your arm tonight, but 'Evans' isn't a wizarding surname, is it?"

James paled and said in his rarely-used serious voice, "Of course I'm joining. I've been planning on doing so for the past year. Even if I didn't love Lily the way I do, it's the right thing."

"Good man," said Gideon.

"Well, we won't keep you any longer, Charlus, Dorea, lovely party. James, take care," and they disappeared into the crowd.

….

Remus, Peter, Sirius, and James. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. They always ran together. Tonight was no different. Sirius, despite still being slightly inebriated, was more sober in his Animagus form and had to concentrate only slightly on not stumbling over tree roots as he kept pace with his friends.

Peter was fast, despite being so small, but sometimes he had to climb onto one of their backs so he didn't get left behind. It wasn't quite dawn yet. Remus probably had another two hours or so before returning to his human form. But Sirius was tired, starting to get a headache, and needed to make things right with Luna.

After letting his friends know that he was leaving, Sirius used the Floo network from Remus's parent's house to return to Potter Manor. The Floo network recognized him, that he had permission to be there, and he was deposited into the study. Still in the form of a big black dog he trotted up the stairs panting slightly, nudged open his bedroom door with his nose and sniffed.

Having canine sense could definitely come in handy. At once, the sweet scents that assaulted him the strongest came from the girl sleeping in his bed. It was a flowery scent like a mixture of jasmine, sweet pea, and lilies, which was just a touch ironic.

There was also the headier scent of her slight arousal. So she had gone to bed horny. That was a good sign, wasn't it? Perhaps she wasn't too mad at him. His own richer, manlier scent was all over the room as well, along with their combined scents.

He could tell she was sleeping from the pattern of her breathing and the relaxed atmosphere. The world around him was so different when he was a dog. Wanting to be able to enjoy these heightened scenes for a while longer, he padded quietly over to his side of the bed and jumped onto the mattress, which creaked under his weight, circled twice, and laid down beside her.

"Mmm, Sirius?" she mumbled quietly.

He gave a quiet whine and she chuckled. "You're adorable," she reached over to scratch the place between his ears and he leaned his head heavily in her hand. "Not that I've forgiven you, of course, you furry bastard, but just because I'm mad doesn't mean that I don't love you. You know that, right?" he made a strange noise that was half-growl and half-hum that she assumed meant he understood.

"I'd really like to talk with you tonight. I hate going to bed angry. Will you please – oh!"

He transformed into his human self before she even finished asking him to. "Let me explain, please, baby?" he murmured as he reached a hand up to cup her face. Luna said nothing and he continued. "You're right. I would rather be dead long before you're born," he placed a finger over her lips to keep her from interrupting. "Do you have any idea how hard that would be for me? Watching you grow up, having to change your nappies, babysit you, knowing that one day you're going to get thrown back in time and that I'm going to be shagging you? Just a bit disturbing, don't you think? Then, when you return to your own time, I'd be an old man. But that's just part of it. The other part is that if you're not here with me, I don't want to grow old. I'd rather die fighting, trying to create a better world for you to live in, than live to a ripe old wizard-age of two hundred or older without you by my side. Because there will never be another witch for me. So to answer your question, no, I do not have a death wish, but yes, I am glad that I will be gone in your future."

Luna tried to put herself in his position and hated herself because she knew she would feel the same way. How could she argue with him without being terribly hypocritical? "That makes more sense than what I was originally thinking," she finally decided on saying.

Sirius kissed her nose. "Darling, why are you still wearing the dress from the party?" he inquired as his hands met the silky golden material beneath the covers of his bed.

With a playful smile, Luna ran her fingers through his hair and whispered against his lips, "Didn't you say that you wanted to be the one to take it off of me?"

….

**A/N: Things are picking up quickly! Next chapter they will be back at Hogwarts! Let me know what you think! **

**Also, a lot of different time travel stories have a lot of different theories on time travel and the repercussions of it. I'm using the bits of information gathered from the Prisoner of Azkaban to base my theories of time travel off of. When Harry and Hermione went back in time to save Sirius and Buckbeak, they'd already been there; that was how Harry knew to cast his Patronus to save himself, and it explained the sounds they'd heard from Hagrid's hut, etc. So Luna can't change anything that happened because in her future, she'd already been there. **


End file.
